We have responded to the latest consultation of Hertsmere on their proposals to develop 6,000 homes on the boundary of London Colney and Colney Heath.
Our response can be found here HBC Local Plan Reg 18 Response Dec 2021
The parish council held an information event on Wednesday 10 November, attended by local politicians and the master developer for the site.
The meeting was streamed live on Facebook and a recording can be viewed here
More information on Hertsmere Borough Council’s proposals can be found on their website:
https://www.hertsmerelocalplan.com/site/homePage
Further information can be found at an event being held at the Caledon Community Centre on Saturday 20 November, 1130-1730 http://www.bowmanscross.co.uk/
London Colney Parish Council Firework Display is back for 2021!
The annual London Colney Parish Council Firework Display returns on Sunday 7th November 2021.
Join us and be wowed at our 25 minute display.
Gates open at 5pm, display starts at 6pm
Enjoy a choice of food vendors, coffees, hot chocolates and mulled wine, along with fun fair rides and games.
Venue – Morris Way Playing Fields, White Horse Lane, London Colney, HERTS, AL2 2JP
Please only attend the event if you have a ticket. – link for tickets below.
Due to the popularity of the is event, we will be operating a ticket system for this event.
A £1 Charity contribution per person will be requested when booking your fireworks tickets. All people in your party will require a ticket.
This years’ fireworks will be supporting the following charities;
London Colney Hedgehog Rescue
The Peace Hospice
1st London Colney Scouting Group
St. Peters Church London Colney
Tickets are now sold out. Please attend if you have tickets.
Tickets will be scanned on the gates to the event, you do not need to print out your tickets, tickets can be scanned from your phone.
Covid Safety:
Where possible please will all members of your party complete a lateral flow covid test prior to attending the event. These can be ordered free of charge from the government website, as well as being available via most pharmacies. If this test is positive, please do not attend the day.
You are welcome to wear a facemask at the event. Facemask wearing is not mandatory outside and is a personal choice.
Please do not attend if you have:
Any Coronavirus symptoms – high temperature, continuous cough, loss of taste or smell
Been instructed to self-isolate following a positive test
Been in contact with someone who has tested positive to Coronavirus in the last 2 weeks and your vaccination status requires you to self-isolate.
Returned from a country in the last two weeks which the government states you must self-isolate upon your return.
If Government guidance or regulations change between time of booking and the event, we will be in contact to update you about Covid-19 safety at the event. If the event has to be cancelled, your ticket donation will still be passed to the charities being supported.
Personal Fireworks:
Please do not bring personal fireworks, including sparklers to the event. Any persons bring personal fireworks (including sparklers) to the event will be asked to leave.
Parking:
The is no on site parking at the firework display, including disabled parking. A road closure will be in operation outside the ground. Please walk to the event where possible. The nearest public carpark is located on Haseldine Road, by the Co-Op.
Litter:
Please use the litter bins provided at the event, or take it home with you.
We can’t wait to see this being built at Morris Recreation Ground. We’ve appointed Splash as our contractor, who is based at Chawston in Bedfordshire. The majority of the work will be completed before Christmas with the finishing touches in the Spring of 2022.
We’re also going to be installing a container cafe so you can pick up your coffee for your dog walk, or enjoy an ice cream while the kids are playing.
The splash pad will be open in mid-May and we look forward to welcoming you all.
London Colney Parish Council remains opposed to the proposed development of 6000 homes at Bowmans Cross, on the boundary with London Colney and Colney Heath. Cllr MacMillan, Chairman of the Parish Council said, “We demand that our residents are properly consulted with on the new plans for the site, given the enormous impact that the development will have on the area including the increase in traffic movements through the village with the additional demands on our infrastructure. The claims made by Hertsmere BC that the land in question is not high quality, unspoilt countryside goes against what residents know to be true; that the area in question is used by residents to enjoy the countryside on their doorsteps, which will be destroyed by the proposed development. If the site wasn’t high quality, then why is it designated as part of the Watling Chase Community Forest?”
Cllr Dreda Gordon said, “The use of Green Belt for development should be the last resort when all other sites including landfills and brownfield sites have been exhausted. We see no evidence of Hertsmere BC using this approach before sacrificing this land, the development of which will see disruption removed from the voters of Hertsmere. The Government’s Planning Policy Framework recommends strong policies to defend Green Belt and Community Forest areas in order to stop urban sprawl and the proposed development, which will merge with London Colney and Colney Heath, will see a settlement the same size as Radlett to the South of St Albans.”
London Colney Parish Council will continue to work with Colney Heath Parish Council to fight this development and will be jointly organising public meetings for residents to have their say. We would welcome Hertsmere BC councillors to attend these meetings.
A section of the High Street near the junction of Morris Way will be closed due to gas main repairs.
An alternative route will be via Morris Way, White Horse Lane, High Street and Morris Way.
If the Order is made, it shall come into force on 6 September 2021 for a period of up to 18 months. However, the restrictions specified shall only take effect at the times indicated by signs on or near the Road. Keep your eyes open for signs which will advise when the road closure will come into force.
NHS Herts Valleys Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), the local NHS organisation responsible for planning and paying for health care for residents across west Hertfordshire, is looking for feedback on urgent care services provided at St Albans City Hospital.
Urgent care services treat people who need prompt support within a few hours or on the same day for an illness or injury that isn’t life-threatening (e.g. sprains, fractures, wounds, minor burns and scalds, removal of foreign objects and minor illnesses such as coughs, diarrhoea and vomiting, infections and skin rashes). The CCG wants to better understand how these services are used and what’s important to people as they decide how to develop urgent care provision in St Albans alongside other healthcare services in West Hertfordshire.
The CCG has reviewed services at Hemel Hempstead and Watford General Hospitals, both of which have urgent treatment centres (UTCs). Urgent care services in Hertsmere are also being reviewed.
St Albans City Hospital currently has a Minor Injuries Unit at St Albans City Hospital. This was temporarily closed in April 2020, when West Herts NHS Trust staff were redeployed to support the pandemic response. It remains closed because the whole of St Albans City Hospital needs to stay a COVID-19 free site for the safety of all patients and so that planned (elective) surgery can safely take place there.
The CCG now needs to decide what sort of urgent care service to provide at St Alban’s City Hospital once we can reopen services there. We will make that decision based on information that we have gathered about how services have been used and also based on the feedback from this engagement about the needs and views of the people who use the St Albans service.
If you’d like to participate in the survey, please use the link below:
St Albans City Hospital Minor Injuries Survey
Following the death of Sarah Everard earlier this year, the County Community Safety Unit (CCSU) is currently producing a needs assessment on Violence Against Women and Girls. As part of this work, they are undertaking a public survey of Hertfordshire residents to understand their experiences and feelings of personal safety, which will help inform recommendations for the needs assessment.
The survey is now open and will remain open until Friday 9th July and can be accessed using the weblink below.
https://surveys.hertfordshire.gov.uk/s/XFEVX8/
Please note the survey is open to males and females of all ages to enable us to compare experiences and feelings of safety between males and females, therefore we ask that the survey is any advertising refers to the survey as the ‘Hertfordshire Personal Safety Survey’ to ensure that males are equally encouraged to take part in the survey.
Of course, also feel free to complete the survey yourself if you live or work in Hertfordshire.
STATEMENT ON LONDON COLNEY VILLAGE CLUB
The concerns of residents were listened to when earlier this year, the Parish
Council took a decision to seek legal advice on the status of the London Colney Village Club.
There is very little that the Parish Council can do in relation to the management of the site. We asked our solicitor to review documents available from a variety of sources, about the current legal status of the trust, which administers the club at the site in St Anne’s Road. They recommended that a legal opinion should be sought from a barrister who specialised in trust law. The barrister considered the case and has raised concerns about the action undertaken to remove the previous trustees and set up the new company as a sole trustee of the site.
It is the barrister’s opinion that as long at the club exists, the property should be held in trust and that the Club cannot distribute the property, or its proceeds, amongst themselves. Once the club ceases to exist, the property or its proceeds cannot be for the benefit of individual members because the trust deed states that it should be applied for charitable purposes.
What is clear is that the current situation is precarious and could result in the site being lost to the village. This has put the Parish Council in a difficult situation. If we do nothing, then the land could be lost. Earlier this year, the company that now ‘own’ the site, were nearly struck off from Companies House, after they failed to register any return. This would have meant that the land would have been seized by the Crown. The Parish Council stepped in and our solicitor wrote to Companies House asking them to not undertake this course of action, and a return was subsequently filed.
Our solicitor has written to the concerned parties and outlined a course of action to be considered including:
We have urged all parties involved to seek legal advice which could include making an application to the Court that has jurisdiction to direct Trustees how to deal with Trust property.
The Parish Council has objected to the planning application being considered by the District Council as we do not consider this is the best use of the site. We appreciate that it is the Company’s intention to develop the site so they can invest in the club’s future. However, it does appear that the current legal situation is not in the best interests of the site which has resulted in the legal title of the property being transferred out of the Trust.
Furthermore, we have registered the site as an Asset of Community Value under the Localism Act. This means that if the owner of the site were to commence to sell, the parish council has six months to raise the funds to purchase the site. It does not mean that the owners have to accept the parish council’s offer but would give the parish council the opportunity to formulate an action plan to save the site.
London Colney Primary Schools and Nurseries have been invited to join the Walk to School Week for Sustfest21 from Monday 24th May – Friday 25th May.
Walking has so many benefits from physical to mental wellbeing; aiding concentration and creativity and creating safer, less polluted and more welcoming streets. All that makes for a happy, healthy child set up for success in and out of the classroom.
