Minutes of Meeting held on Monday 18 January 2016 at 8pm
at the Clarion Collection Hotel, Holywell Hill.
1. Present: Avril Allen, Bernadette Blade, Kam Cheung, Charles Davies, Mary Green, Anthony Hyde, Cathy Jones, Angela King, Roger Morton
2. Apologies for absence: Katie Barron, Jacqueline Briggs, Cllr Alec Campbell, Cllr Alun Davies, Jenny Johnson, Mary Plackett
3. Minutes of previous meeting: The minutes of the meeting held on Monday 02 November 2015 had been circulated by email and a copy was made available at this meeting. The minutes were approved.
4. Matters arising: None
5. Finances: Anthony Hyde confirmed that we had received £100 grant from St Albans District Council in November 2015. We had paid £20 for the printing of the Christmas cards and we now have a balance of £354.22.
6. Our local environment:
• Lorry ban / speed restriction / pinch-point in Sopwell Lane: We are waiting for Hertfordshire County Council to carry out the consultation.
• Green oasis in Sopwell Lane: Work on planting will recommence in the Spring. The two litter bins have now been removed.
• Condition of wall at Holywell Hill end of Sopwell Lane: The matter has reached an impasse. Any action will need to be agreed between the owners of the property and St Albans District Council.
• Missing bollards in Sopwell Lane (near the Hare And Hounds): We are trying to get these bollards reinstated.
• Void in Albert Street (in the boundary wall of Ryder Seed Mews): Phil Bruce-Green (Parks & Green Spaces Officer) is working on a proposal to open up the void by removing the front part of the wall. This would let in more light and make planting possible. No further information has been received. Roger will chase this up.
• Improving access to Albert Street Car Park: Roger has asked St Albans District Council for assistance in estimating the cost of the necessary work so that an application for a grant from the City Neighbourhoods Committee can be submitted. As yet no further information has been received. Roger will chase this up.
• Flattening of speed cushions in Albert Street: Cllr Chris White advised that Eurovia (who resurfaced Albert Street) have had their contract terminated by Hertfordshire County Council. HCC will now ask a new contractor to sort out the speed cushions. A new start date is to be confirmed.
• Keyfield Terrace Car Park: We are advised that the revised parking fees to allow for 1 hour parking at a reduced rate have come into effect.
• Pearce’s Walk planter: A decision on planting will be reached in the Spring.
• Weeds Clearance: Cllr Chris White continues to chase Hertfordshire County Council to sort this out.
7. City Neighbourhoods Committee:
• Roger attended the meeting on 09 December 2015. He gave a brief summary of the matters discussed. The minutes of this meeting are available on the District Council website
• The next meeting is on 09 March 2016. Please let Roger know if there is any matter you would like him to take to the CNC.
8. Registering pubs as Assets of Community Value: Roger gave an outline of the scheme that enables a group of residents to register an asset as being of community value. This makes it more difficult for a community asset to be sold off and lost to the community. In our area there are a number of pubs that could be protected in this way. The meeting agreed that this was worth investigation and Roger offered to bring more information and paperwork to the next meeting.
9. Any other business:
• Residents enjoy St Albans: A weekend of activities aimed at residents of St Albans taking place on Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 January 2016. More information is available in the local paper or on the Enjoy St Albans website.
• A question was raised about the parking regulations on a strip of London Road between the Post Office and Watsons Walk. This is not within the SAPHRA area but residents of that part of London Road can apply for parking permits in Zone M. Roger agreed to investigate.
• The issue of cross pavement gullies was discussed again. Angela mentioned that the gulley across the pavement, draining water from her property, had been repaired again by Herts County Council. This time they had put a pipe across the pavement just below the surface and concreted over the top of it. This is an interesting approach which we might want to pursue in the future.
• It was suggested that SAPHRA might compile a list of contractors that residents had found to be reliable. It was agreed to defer this matter to the next meeting.
10. Date of next meeting: To be held on Monday 07 March 2016.
Note regarding Neighbourhood Watch: SAPHRA members are encouraged to sign up for the OWL (On-line Watch Liaison) scheme. SAPHRA can provide OWL sign-up forms to any interested party. It is also possible to sign up for OWL Messages via www.owl.co.uk. For those members who do not have email it is possible to obtain OWL Messages via a home phone (landline).