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L I T T L E G A D D E S D E N p a r i s h c o u n c i l
MINUTES OF THE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD IN THE VILLAGE HALL on
16st October 2017
PLEASE NOTE THAT MINUTES ARE ALSO PUBLISHED ON THE VILLAGE WEB SITE
The meeting commenced at 8.00pm.
Present : Cllrs. Archer, Heaphy, Hyde, Irving, Kelly, Magson; Alastair Greene (Clerk) and sixty members of the public, reducing to 22 after the National Trust presentation.
Apologies : Cllr. Hargreaves & County and Borough Councillor Terry Douris
NATIONAL TRUST CONSULTATION
Vice Chairman Cllr. Rob Irving chaired the meeting and advised that the first item would be the presentation by the National Trust (NT) who had asked the Parish Council if they could present and consult with the Parish in connection with the project to create parking in the Monument area of the Ashridge Estate.
Susie Mercer (General Manager of the Ashridge Estate), Jenny Smith (The Project Manager) and Emily Smith (Acting Lead Ranger) were present from the NT.
By way of introduction Susie Mercer explained that over the years Ashridge had seen an increase in visitor numbers, many of whom arrive by car. The current parking arrangements on Monument Drive enable visitors to park at the side of the long drive leading towards the Monument and this has resulted in a degrading of the view between the House and the Monument, considerable damage to the verges and compaction of the soil and tree roots. Visitors have complained about these problems and some NT members have complained that non-member visitors do not contribute to the cost of maintenance of the estate. The NT is also concerned about anti-social behaviour along Monument Drive in the evenings.
To prevent these problems the NT proposes to create parking area(s) at the Monument, though the location and design have yet to be agreed.
It is expected that charges will be introduced for the new parking facilities but no details have been decided yet. Across the estate there are 24 car parks and there are no plans to introduce charges at any except possibility the Beacon car park. Susie explained that she hoped that people would consider taking out membership of the Trust as members had the benefit of free parking.
Jenny Smith took the audience through a series of slides that explained the background to the project. In summary they have appointed consultants to help them look at options for providing car parking to accommodate 450 cars with flexibility to extend parking at peak times/events. The NT do not have any stated preference for the location of the car park(s) or whether there would be one or many car parks in order to meet the stated number of spaces.
The presentation to the Parish Council was the first of many to all those statutory bodies and organisations who take an interest in or have influence over what happens on the Ashridge Estate.
Once options have been worked up, likely to be by Feb/March according to the current timetable, the NT will be able to consult further on their proposals.
The whole cost of the project, including consultants, internal costs, and construction etc. is budgeted at £1 million.
After the presentation the NT invited questions though they also advised that they had produced a Question and Answer sheet covering the issues that they were aware might cause concern and those Q&A’s were available as hand outs at the end of the meeting. (Now available also on the Parish Notice board next to the shop and on the web site).
Brief notes of the questions asked by attendees:-
What is the implementation timetable of the project? – Subject to consultation responses and approvals likely to be implemented in 2019
What are the likely costs? – As stated above c. £1m budget
What is the overall objective? – Reinstating historic views, conservation of trees and verges, better visitor experience,
Will this cause a growth in visitor numbers? – There is a risk that it might but the intention is just to give those attending a better visitor experience.
Will the full options and the background survey data be made available so that residents can understand the reasoning behind the preferred options? – To an extent yes. We will be consulting again once we have undertaken the options design process. Technical documents e.g. documents like the Environmental Impact Assessment, will be made available as a result of the planning process.
Why doesn’t the NT restrict the parking to NT members only? The Estate is partly Common Land and it is not possible to place restrictions or impose charges for access.
How will the NT manage fly parking by folk avoiding the car parks where you have to pay? Will you be painting yellow lines along the roads? Avoiding this forms part of the consultants brief. The NT hope that yellow lines will not be needed.
Specific to those who will need to get access to residential properties inside gated areas of the Estate, how will access be maintained through gates for residents and for emergency vehicles? NT agree that this is a point that needs to be considered and a satisfactory solution found.
Who will have to pay to use the estate in the future? No plans to charge for bridleways other than the current arrangements for licences to ride horses on permitted bridleways on the estate. It is possible that Commercial Dog Walkers, and other commercial businesses may be charged for carrying out commercial activity on Trust land.
What will be the acreage needed for the number of spaces required? Not known yet because it depends on the configuration for the parking area(s)
Will the money raised be kept and reinvested back in the Ashridge estate? – Yes
Will the parking fees be variable to encourage non-peak use of the Estate – The NT will consider that suggestion.
Will there still be parking allowed along the drive? – Possibly in pockets but not as widely permitted as at present.
How will the NT cope with overuse of the parking and non-payment – Generally non-payment is not a problem on NT Estates but the NT will need to think about how to manage over capacity of visitors
Rob Irving thanked the National Trust for their presentation and then there was a break before moving onto the rest of the Parish Meeting.
1. FORMALITIES
The attendance register was signed. There were no declarations of interest on items on the agenda.
The minutes of the previous meeting were agreed as a correct record of the meeting and were signed at the end of the meeting.
2. OPEN SESSION FOR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
Cllr. Irving asked if anyone wished to raise any matters not already covered in the Agenda.
Virginia Westmacott asked if she could put up posters on the Green w/c 4th November for the Art Club show and the British Humanitarian Aid event the week after, both requests were approved.
Mike Walsham said that he greatly admired what the Parish Councillors do regarding planning but there were concerns about some of the major changes being made to our village houses. He mentioned:-
the rebuilding of the Oak House, expansion of the Brown House, huge alterations and additions to Traff Allen's house- a Grade II house, the extraordinary changes and the out-of-keeping Oak Framed garage at No.13 Ringshall, the overturning of the planning rejection at Pooks Hill to develop a much larger house and Margaret Crawford's old house becoming 2 dwellings with little parking.
He said he was aware that the Parish’s powers were limited but strongly urged the PC Planning committee to work much more closely with Dacorum's Conservation and Planning departments to more carefully examine plans submitted and follow up visits during building work. He felt in just over a year, the village had changed very rapidly and was losing its village identity; also most of these developments will be located behind electronically operated gates creating a pseudo suburban environment.
Cllr. Irving acknowledged his concern and it was noted that the Conservation Area Character Appraisal that Dacorum should be producing for Little Gaddesden would not be commenced until outstanding Appraisals were completed.
3. REPORTS AND MATTERS ARISING
(a) Police Report. PCSO Lee Clements confirmed that there had been no reported crimes in September, though he had noted a growth in theft from sheds in the wider region and again recommended that people should use the immobilise web site to register garden equipment etc. so that if equipment was recovered it could be easily returned to the rightful owners.
(b) Safe route to school.
Cllr. Kelly explained that he had been approached by villagers in connection with pedestrian safety on Hudnall Lane. He wished at this stage just to alert villagers that this was something he would look at and be reporting more fully on at a later meeting.
(c) Village Hall Improvements Sub-Committee.
Cllr Irving reminded everyone that the sub-committee had met and it was noted that the priority of the Village Hall Management Committee was now to carry out the refurbishment of the kitchen. Fiona McWilliams had kindly obtained quotes for the work which included replacement door fronts, end panels, cornices and plinths but retention of the structural carcasses of the units. The work surface would be replaced and extended and new sinks would be provided. Hot water via a Quooker was proposed together with recessed blinds, a new door, ceiling and light replacement with modern LEDs.
Cllr. Irving advised that a complete kitchen replacement would cost £40,000, however, this refurbishment programme would cost £17,000. The Councillors agreed with the principle of refurbishment rather than complete replacement and agreed to investigate internal and external avenues of funding. The intention was to carry out these works during the school holidays at some point in early 2018, possibly half term or Easter depending on the availability of the hall and the likely time taken to complete the works.
(d) Electricity on the Green project.
The Clerk confirmed that the planning consent had been received from Dacorum Borough Council for the installation of the cabinet and that the UKPN construction team had prepared the ground in readiness for their connection team to do the connections the following day. The intention was to have everything completed and power available in time for the Remembrance Day service.
(e) Road closure by Hertfordshire County Council for Broadband works at the Ringshall end of Nettleden Road
The Clerk expressed his frustration and that of several local residents including the shop owner and pub manager and residents of Nettleden road about the management of the closure order process. Whilst the utility company had put signs up saying that the road at Brownlow Gate would be closed for 6 days in fact the Nettleden Road was closed for no more than a few hours on the Saturday morning. The misinformation was most unhelpful to villagers and visitors alike. No temporary signs were provided by the contractors advising that the shop and pub were open for business and so the Clerk had put up four large signs around the village to encourage people to visit the pub and shop which were open for business as usual. The Clerk felt that there needed to be better discussion with local people prior to any publishing of a draft order that required road closure rather than what appeared to be a simple acceptance the utility company’s request. He advised that he would ask County Councillor Terry Douris for his help on this matter.
(f) Flooding on the Nettleden Road due to raising of the road surface level
Cllr. Douris had forwarded a message to the Clerk advising that the problem drain at the entrance of Gatesdene Close had been cleaned out and that the Engineer would be monitoring the road drainage for potential risk of flooding at nearby houses.
(g)Working party at Cromer Close playground
Cllr Hyde advised that she had received a quote which would be for less than £3,000 (i.e. within budget) if the ground matting was not needed. The Clerk read out a note received from the Parish Council’s Play Area inspection team explaining when grass was an acceptable protection against falls. The Council gave approval to the project.
(h)Milestone on Nettleden Road
Cllr. Irving advised that a resident had noted that the historic milestone on the Nettleden Road heading south out of the village had become overgrown and forgotten about. The Milestone Society had at the invitation of the resident visited and made out a report on options that would be discussed at the next meeting. Concern was expressed at the meeting about potential theft of the milestone, a little piece of village history. It was agreed that careful consideration would be given to its protection.
(i)Update on defibrillators
Cllr. Kelly reported that First Responders had done a great job in offering CPR training to residents that day as part of the 'Restart a Heart campaign'. He said that a defibrillator would be installed at the Sports Pavilion shortly but would be internal to the building for use primarily by those attending sporting events on the Playing field. Another defibrillator was shortly to be installed on the front wall of the pub and would be available at all times to anyone in need.
(j) Electric Car charging point at the Village Hall
Cllr. Hyde advised that her request for support from Dacorum Borough Council was rejected as they only install chargers on DBC car parks.
(k) Litter picking volunteers for Hudnall Lane
The Clerk advised that he had received a number of offers of support though more would be very welcome and he confirmed he would set up the rota for the year and distribute litter picking sticks and reflective jackets to the volunteers.
(l) Dog waste bins
The Clerk advised that he had met with Borough Councillor Terry Douris and Simon Coultas from Dacorum Borough Council to discuss the location of the two new bins that had been offered. The Parish Council will need to pay for the bins but the installation and future emptying would be carried out by the DBC as part of their regular service and at no cost to the Parish Council. The locations proposed were at the back of the Bridgwater Arms car park just near to the dog waste bag dispenser and on the Bede Court footpath Nettleden Road end just adjacent to the dog waste bag dispenser. The Council approved the cost of the bins c.£500 and the Clerk advised he would need to get landowners permissions before proceeding.
(m) Items brought forward from previous meetings
It was agreed that the proposal to expand the car park adjacent to the Bowls Club should be dropped.
It was agreed that The Conservation Area Character Appraisal request should be retained on this list to ensure the Parish continues to press for a start date.
It was agreed that the request from Eloise Smart of Ringshall to provide a safer crossing of the busy Dagnall to Northchurch Road should and brought forward at the next meeting for a formal response.
4. ADMINISTRATION
Correspondence
The Clerk advised he had received a number of items of correspondence which he summarised as follows:-
Jim Townsend advised that the Monument proposals from the National Trust would fall into either the Aldbury or Ivinghoe Parish Council area rather than Little Gaddesden’s.
Terry Douris advised in response to a question at the August meeting about water resource planning. Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) is doing some work jointly with the Local Planning Authorities on water and waste water services and the implications for this area of infrastructure arising from Growth. This is due to be reported to HCC’s Environment, Planning and Transport Panel at the November meeting. HCC is also currently looking at the consultation from Affinity Water on their Drought Management Plan which runs until October 2nd and will be making a HCC response
HCC is at the beginning of the next water resource planning round which is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2019 and will be working closely with Affinity, Thames and Anglian water companies over the next year and a half to input to this process. From this Terry said that it was evident that HCC and the water companies are very aware of the need for planning this resource.
Nick Crispin complained that the cricket covers were blocking the footpath on the playing field. (These had been relocated by the time of the Parish Meeting)
Jill Atkins and John Mitchell both wrote to complain about the proposed road closure on Nettleden Road (covered in item 3(e) above). Amit Odedra and James Cadle from the Bridgewater Arms complained that the road was closed without real need and that no signs had been erected indicating that the pub and shop were open for business as usual.