Minutes of the meeting on 23 January 2017

SAPHRA

The residents’ association for Sopwell Lane, Albert Street, Pageant Road, Hart Road, The Ryder Seed Mews Estate, Saracens Head Yard, Pearce’s Walk and Keyfield Terrace

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Minutes of Meeting held on Monday 23 January 2017 at 8pm
at the Clarion Collection Hotel, Holywell Hill.

1.    Present:  Avril Allen, Bernadette Blade, Kam Cheung, Mary Green, Anthony Hyde, Jenny Johnson, Pamela Johnson, Catherine Jones, Angela King, Roger Morton, Mary Plackett

2.    Apologies:  Katie Barron, Tim Boatswain, Jacqueline Briggs, Cllr Alec Campbell, Cllr Alun Davies, Charles Davies, Catriona Martin, Linda Matthewman, Elaine Rainsford, Paul Rainsford, Cllr Chris White

3.    Minutes of previous meeting: The minutes of the meeting held on Monday 07 November 2016 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 the £100 annual grant from St Albans District Council and had paid £20 for the printing of the SAPHRA Christmas cards.

6.    Our local environment:

  • Lorry ban / speed restriction / pinch-point in Sopwell Lane: We are waiting to hear the results of the Public Consultation from Hertfordshire County Council.
  • Green oasis in Sopwell Lane: A working party will be set up to resume gardening works in the Spring.
  • Missing bollards in Sopwell Lane (near the Hare And Hounds): The missing bollards have now been reinstated. Roger thanked Cllr Sandy Walkington for agreeing to meet the cost from his budget.
  • Void in Albert Street (in the boundary wall of Ryder Seed Mews): Roger met with Cllr Alun Davies in December 2016 to discuss options for this project. As the land is not owned by St Albans District Council, City Neighbourhoods Committee money is not available for this. Cllr Alun Davies suggested to Roger, in December 2016, that as the issue was first raised by the Ryder Seed Mews estate they might fund a solution. Anthony Hyde offered to approach the Ryder Seed Mews Association.
  • Improving access to Albert Street Car Park: This project has now been approved by all three Ward Councillors. They will now arrange for the works to take place. Cllr Alun Davies will also ask the District Council to get the lines to the parking bays remarked.
  • Weeds: Roger reported that he had attended the District Council’s Scrutiny Committee Meeting last November 2016 when this was discussed. At that meeting the Hertfordshire County Council representatives agreed that their contractors’ performance had been poor in 2016 and promised an improved service in 2017.
  • Missing street signs: The street sign that was broken in Sopwell Lane has been repaired and reinstated.

7.    City Neighbourhoods Committee:

  • Roger represented SAPHRA at the last meeting on Thursday 19 January 2017.
  • The minutes of CNC meetings are available on the District Council website
  • The next meeting will be held on Thursday 08 March 2017.

8.    Consultation on controlled parking zone M: We are still awaiting the results of the survey/questionnaire letter.

9.    Registering pubs as Assets of Community Value:

We are currently in the process of completing the Council’s nomination form to register the White         Hart Tap pub in Keyfield Terrace as an Asset of Community Value. CAMRA has supplied us with the necessary documentation to submit with the application and all relevant parties will be consulted.

10.  Feedback on SAPHRA Christmas party and New Year drink:

       It was agreed that there was a very good atmosphere at the Christmas party in the Hare and Hounds pub. In general members were pleased with their food choices.

       There was a reasonable turnout at the New Year drink in the Garibaldi pub. The dining room space was a bit cramped for our party but it did not spoil the event

11.  Any other business:

       Concerns were raised by some members with regards to a current planning application (Ref. 5/2016/3848) to build a block of 6 flats at the back of 48/50 London Road. If you wish to submit any comments please visit http://www.stalbans.gov.uk/planning or google St Albans Planning. The deadline for submissions is Thursday 26th January 2017. 

12.  Date of next meeting: To be held on Monday 06 March 2017.

 

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).