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 13 May 2019 at 8:00 pm
at the Clarion Collection Hotel, Holywell Hill.
1. Present: Avril Allen, Pamela Johnson, Cathy Jones, Angela King, Barry Knight, Roger Morton, Mary Plackett, Bob Shadrake, Cllr Jacqui Taylor, Cllr Will Tucker
2. Apologies: Tim Boatswain, Alison Burroughs, Kam Cheung, Ghislein de Cruz, Phil Fletcher, Mary Green, Jane Harris-Matthews, Anthony Hyde, Jenny Johnson, Linda Matthewman, Cllr Chris White
3. Minutes of previous meeting: The minutes of the meeting held on Monday 04 March 2019 had been circulated by email (and by hand to residents who do not use email) and a copy was made available at this meeting. The minutes were approved.
4. Matters arising: None
5. Finances: Anthony Hyde advised, by email, that the bank balance is £341.26 after the recent spend on the new grit bin (£95.94).
6. Green oasis in Sopwell Lane:
Cllr Jacqui Taylor informed the meeting that both contacts we had at Affinity had now changed their roles. We have a new contact (Lina Nieto) who has stated they are still keen to go ahead with the project. We had been waiting for the promised revised plan from Affinity, but SAPHRA has now been asked to draw up our own plan for consideration by Affinity. Cathy and Mary agreed to form a working party to agree a plan for the site and it was suggested that Phil should be invited to join them. (Post meeting note - Phil has agreed to this.)
Cllr Jacqui Taylor will consult SADC Building Control regarding the loose bricks that remain stacked up on the wall at the rear of the site.
7. Car charging points in our area:
Cllr Will Tucker is currently in touch with his colleagues in Bedford. They are due to have a meeting on 27 May 2019 to discuss the subject of car charging points and to draw up plans to introduce more car charging points in St Albans. SAPHRA will welcome an opportunity to help shape the proposals once the responsibilities of District Councillors have been agreed following the recent election.
8. Parking changes and pinch point in Sopwell Lane:
Roger, Cllr Jacqui Taylor and Bob Shadrake have formed a working party. They had their second meeting on Thursday 9 May 2019. Bob submitted a report containing feedback he had received from residents regarding difficulties with parking during evening hours and making proposals of where to gain extra parking spaces in Hart Road and Keyfield Terrace. Cllr Jacqui Taylor will submit the proposals to SADC.
9. Other matters affecting our area:
- The current closure of the Hare and Hounds pub will affect our plans for our summer barbecue (see below) and means that we cannot put the grit bin we have just purchased on their forecourt as planned. Roger asked the meeting if there were any ideas for where it should be placed, but the consensus was that this is not urgent - we can wait until the autumn before deciding.
- Pub in the Park (13 – 15 September 2019). The Pub in the Park event in Verulamium Park is one of eight similar events around the country this summer. Once the first few events have taken place, and advance ticket sales for St Albans are known, there will be a clearer idea of expected crowds and parking needs. Cllr Jacqui Taylor expects to receive more information by end of May / beginning of June and will keep Roger informed.
10. City Neighbourhoods Committee:
The CNC is an executive body of St Albans District Council. Its members are District Councillors drawn from the unparished wards in the City centre and co-opted residents’ associations from the same area. The last CNC meeting was held on 20 March 2019 at 7.00pm. Roger attended on behalf of SAPHRA. The minutes of the meeting should be available on the District Council website (but were yet to appear at the time these minutes were prepared). The next CNC meeting is 26 June 2019.
11. Arrangements for summer barbeque:
As the Hare and Hounds pub is currently closed, it was agreed that we will approach the White Lion pub to try and arrange for our summer barbeque to be held in the pub garden. Proposed dates for this event are 14th July (preferred) or 7th or 21st July 2019.
12. Dates of next meetings: In order to ensure that more people have an opportunity to attend our meetings we will be alternating between Mondays and Tuesdays in future. Here is a list of our revised dates: Tuesday 09 July 2019, Monday 16 September 2019 (AGM), Tuesday 12 November 2019, Monday 13 January 2020, Tuesday 10 March 2020.
13. Any other business:
- Avril raised her concerns about rubbish in the back yard of the White Hart Hotel. The rubbish is often unsightly to those whose properties, in Saracens Head Yard, overlook the site. She asked whether there is an inspector who checks rubbish on private land. Cllr Jacqui Taylor arranged to meet Avril at her house in order to take some pictures of the site.
- Conservation 50: This is a threefold event to celebrate and safeguard the St Albans Conservation Area on the 50th Anniversary of its first designation. A half-day conference is planned with high-profile speakers and a panel-style discussion along with a celebration party in the evening. The planned date for the conference and party is Saturday 6 July 2019. Phil is our nominated representative to help with the planning of this event but hadn’t received any communications from the organisers.
- SUSTFEST 2019 (11 May – 1 June 2019): This is a three-week festival of sustainability events across St Albans, Harpenden and the villages. You can download a programme of events from www.sustainablestalbans.org
- Healthy Streets: Angela circulated a leaflet advertising a talk by Caroline Russell, called Healthy Streets, to be held at the Marlborough Road Methodist Church, St Albans, on the 29 May 2019 at 7.30pm. Everyone is welcome to this free meeting.
Useful information
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).
Highways fault reporting: (Potholes, street lamps not working, blocked drains etc.) can be reported to Hertfordshire County Council at: www.hertsdirect.org/services/transtreets/highways/hhonlineservices/hfr/
Street cleaning issues: (litter, fly-tipping, overflowing litter bins etc.) can be reported to St Albans District Council by telephone to 01727 819285 or 01727 819598
or by email to a.cleanerdistrict@stalbans.gov.uk
or online at: www.stalbans.gov.uk/environmentandwaste/street-care-and-cleaning/default.aspx
Agendas and minutes for District Council meetings can be found at:
http://stalbans.moderngov.co.uk/ieDocHome.aspx?bcr=1
Opening times and locations of the St Albans foodbanks run by the Trussell Trust:
Tuesdays: 1 – 3 pm Christ Church, 3 High Oaks, New Greens AL3 6 DJ
Tuesdays: 4:00– 5:30 pm Cunningham Hub, Cell Barnes Lane AL1 5PX
Wednesdays: 12:30 – 2:30 pm Christadelphian Church Hall, 4-6 Abbotts Avenue AL1 2HX
Thursdays: 12:30 – 2:30 pm Hilldyke Community Centre, 17 Hilldyke Road AL4 8TU
Fridays: 1:00 - 3:00 pm Holcroft Road, Batford AL5 5BQ
More information from: www.stalbansdistrict.foodbank.org.uk. Tel.: 01727 613 019.
Noise pollution:
To make a complaint about noise:
Report online through your MyStAlbans account at https://stalbans.force.com/mysadc
or email environmental@stalbans.gov.uk
or call 01727 819406 during normal office hours.
On Friday and Saturday nights St Albans District Council operate an out-of-hours noise patrol service, which deals with noise complaints. You can contact the duty team on 01727 811155 between 6pm and 3am.
The District Council also operates a Licensing Hotline to report complaints about Licensed Premises (pubs, clubs, restaurants etc.,) out of hours. The number is 07770 701720.
Herts Careline:
Community alarms for older and vulnerable people in Hertfordshire