Minutes of Meeting held on Monday 02 February 2015 at 8pm
at the Clarion Collection Hotel, Holywell Hill.

1. Present:, Avril Allen, Richard Barran, Bernadette Blade, Ania Buckley, Rob Buckley, Cllr. Alec Campbell, Cllr. Alun Davies, Charles Davies, Anthony Hyde, Pamela Johnson, Cathy Jones, Erika Jeugie, Angela King, Roger Morton, Mary Plackett, Darryl Stannard, Eric Thurston, Cllr. Chris White

2. Apologies for absence: Catherine Barron, Douglas Davidson, Linda Mathewman.

3. Minutes of previous meeting: The minutes of the meeting held on Monday 10 November had been circulated on 30 November by email and a copy was available at this meeting.

4 Matters arising: None

5 Vacancy for Secretary: Still seeking a volunteer.

6 Finances: Anthony advised that since the AGM £100 had been received, £80 had been paid out and we now had £314.22 in the bank.

7 Neighbourhood Watch:

- Roger is now receiving regular messages via the OWL (on-line watch) system.

- A meeting had been arranged with Catherine Hieatt (Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator for the whole of St Peter’s ward) in the bar of the White hart Hotel at 9:30 pm (immediately after this meeting). Everyone present was invited to attend. Roger will report back at the next SAPHRA meeting.

8 Our local environment:

- Cross-pavement rainwater gullies. Cllr. Chris White and Roger had met with County Council officers on 12th November. The County Council (and now the District Council) appear adamant that these are the householder’s responsibility.

- Lorry ban / speed restriction / pinch-point in Sopwell Lane. Cllr. Chris White is investigating options for re-locating three on-street parking bays in Sopwell Lane to remove the need for large lorries to ride up on the pavement at that point. It was suggested that this should be coupled with installing a purpose-made pinch point (with kerbs and bollards) to slow traffic at that point. He is also still pursuing a 20 MPH speed limit for Sopwell Lane and Albert Street and the installation of signs to indicate that Sopwell Lane is unsuitable for heavy lorries. Cllr. Simon Grover is also chasing the County Council about the 20 mph speed limit.

- Flattening of speed cushions in Albert Street. Cllr. Chris White is chasing the County Council to replace them (i.e. finish last year’s micro-surfacing work properly).

- Keyfield Terrace car park. Cllr. Alec Campbell has advised that Keyfield Terrace car park charges (presumably cheaper short-term parking) will be included in Car Park Order coming into effect in April.

- Albert Street car park. Cllr. Simon Grover has offered to seek City Neighbourhoods Committee funds to modify the kerbs that block entry to two spaces at each end of the larger Albert Street resident’s parking scheme car park.

- Void in Albert Street (in the boundary wall of Ryder Seed Mews) that gets used for fly-tipping. We have accepted Cllr Simon Grover’s offer to seek City Neighbourhoods Committee funds to plant dense shrubs in this space to fill the void and prevent fly-tipping. We await his proposals. Cllr Alun Davies also supports this and has offered to research possible plants.

- Green oasis in Sopwell Lane. There is a small patch of open ground between numbers 9 and 33 Sopwell Lane. Some nearby residents would like to see it planted (and offered to help). Cllr Alun Davies offered to find out who owned it - if it is District Council owned we should be able to get permission to plant it.

9 City Neighbourhoods Committee:

- Most recent meeting was 11th December. Roger attended on behalf of SAPHRA.

 - Key topics discussed: Reinstating carnival, schools & coaches, £40,000 repairs & maintenance budget to be split between 8 city neighbourhood wards, waste recycling, allotment strategy, Clarence Park Management Plan, city centre disturbance at weekends, replacement of Christmas lights.

 - Next meeting is Thursday 12 March. Roger would be unable to attend - Angela King offered to represent SAPHRA.

10 Feedback on Christmas meal in December: 12 residents attended and had an enjoyable evening.

11 Feedback on pub get-together in January: 11 residents attended, including several new to our area.

12 Any other business

- Charles Davies wondered if we should join the St Albans Civic Society? As we are a local resident’s association we wouldn’t have to pay a subscription. Those present thought it a good idea and Charles offered to find out more.

- Transition Streets. The meeting had run over time so this topic was deferred until our next meeting.

13 Date of next meeting: Proposed for Monday 13 April 2014 (subject to a meeting room being available).

After the meeting closed Roger invited all to the White Hart Hotel bar to meet with Catherine Hieatt (Neighbourhood Watch Coordinator for St Peter’s ward) and to say farewell to Richard (who was soon to leave the area).