Annual Report 2006

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Chairman's Foreword

I first must pay tribute to Cllr. John Howley who as Chairman of Aldenham Parish Council for the past six years has led the Council through a period of change and handed over to me with the Council in excellent condition. It was a great privilege to appoint him on behalf of the Council an Honorary Citizen of Aldenham. This is an appointment which carries no privileges, but is a mark of the esteem in which he is held.

Unfortunately we have lost two councillors during the last twelve months. Cllr. Mrs Ann Reith died in June 2005 and Cllr Mike Thompson stood down for personal reasons. We however welcome as Councillors Mrs Gill Balen and Mrs Caroline Griffiths who have both been co-opted onto the Council.

The Radlett Festival continues to be a success, not only in providing a summer event for the residents but also raising funds for local charities and to provide facilities for the local youth. This year’s event consisted of an evening Concert on the Saturday and the Carnival on Sunday. Once again the weather was on our side and a considerable amount of money was raised.

The local issue which has caused the most concern was the possible closure of the Fire Station. T hanks mainly to a vigorous campaign by the Save Radlett Fire Station Group; it would appear that the Fire Station will remain open. But this will cost the Council Tax payers of Aldenham more in the future. As part of the campaign Aldenham Parish Council was asked to help fund its retention. As a Council we promised £25,000, per annum, which was the maximum we could provide. This will mean that next year there will have to be an increase in the Parish precept to fund this. The Fire Station appears safe for the next two years; we now wait to see what will happen after that.

I must thank all of the Parish Councillors for their support during the last year. As John mentioned last year they are all unpaid and work hard because they believe in Aldenham as a community. I would also like to thank all the Council staff for their hard work, not only in the Office but also the Ground Staff who try to keep Aldenham looking neat and tidy despite the efforts of some, to destroy all their hard work.

Councillor Ron Worthy

Recreation Grounds Committee

Since my report last year both Aldenham Parish Council and the Recreation Grounds Committee, have lost the tireless services of one of our hardest working Councillors, when Anne Reith died in June. She is sadly missed and her advice on all things regarding gardening and the provision of the Christmas lights we will find difficult to replace.

We have in the last year had to replace two of our tractors, both of which had come to the end of their useful life. We have purchased one tractor and a small pick up truck, which should give the staff more flexibility.

The condition of the tennis courts at Phillimore Recreation Ground has for some time been a cause for concern. The surface had become so bad that we waived all charges until we could re-surface them. Unfortunately the cost of just re-surfacing ran into several thousands of pounds. We have decided to convert the two courts to create one new court and a multi-use games court (Basketball, 5 a side, netball etc.). We have been successful in obtaining a grant from Barclays Bank Spaces for Sport, to cover the cost of this work. Also in the Recreation Ground thanks to the Radlett Festival Committee we have been able to erect a permanent goalpost, as requested by the St. Johns Church Youth Club, which we believe is vandal proof. In the Children's playground the large roundabout is no longer working properly as the central bearing has worn away. We are looking to replace this, which would appear to be the cheapest option. During last summer we provided some ramps for use by skateboards and BMX bicycles. They were at the Recreation Ground for 4 weeks and in Salter’s field for a further 4 weeks. These proved very popular and we have since had several half-day hires over half terms and Easter. If the funding could be found it would be our wish to provide a more permanent facility.

It was our wish to convert Salter’s Field to a Sports field, but Hertfordshire County Council informed us that they would not sanction any in-fill to level it. A BMX track has been created in the field, by the young people who use it, with some assistance from our staff. The 1st Radlett Scouts built a Beacon on the field, on behalf of the Parish Council to commemorate the 200th Anniversary of the battle of Trafalgar. We are continuing to look at further uses for the field.

We are adding items to the Christmas lights each year, which is producing a fine display. The switch on, last Christmas coincided with the provision of new lighting in Radlett Gardens. Unfortunately these lights have been vandalised on several occasions and several plants and large stones stolen from the gardens, if you see anyone interfering with items in the gardens please report it to the Police.

Finally under the Parish Environmental Action Plan, sponsored by the Countryside Management Service, we put forward Letchmore Heath Pond as in need of major work. This has now been completed and looks very good. The next work to be undertaken is the land alongside the Car Park entrance and Tykesglade, which we would like, landscaped in memory of Anne Reith. This can go ahead, now that the re-cycling bins have finally been moved.

A final thank you to Fred Hills and his Staff who keep the Parish looking so good.

Ron Worthy, Chairman

Finance and General Purposes Committee

The Precept for the financial year 2006/07 was set at £480,410: an increase of less than 4% on the previous year. Expenditure is forecast to be about £541,000 and income is expected to be £61,000.

Some four years ago, the Council was theoretically insolvent, and was duly criticised by its auditors. Subsequently, steps have been taken to build up reserves to a prudent level, and it is intended to maintain about three months’ expenditure in hand in the future.

At the end of March 2006, the Parish Council’s reserves stood at £158,000, which includes £30,000 that is designated for repayment of a loan from Hertsmere Borough Council.

There were two major items of capital expenditure in the past year: £5,000 to buy a Suzuki truck to replace a tractor, and £18,000 to install lighting in Radlett Gardens.

The Parish Clerk signed a new contract of employment on 1 April 2005, and this brought her terms of employment and salary into line with a national scheme for local council employees.

John Howley, Chairman

Transportation Committee

The Transport Committee monitors and lobbies on transport issues in the parish.

Over-flying by helicopters from Elstree Airfield is a concern and we continue to monitor and lobby to ensure that inconvenience to residents is kept to a minimum.

Responsibility for enforcement of parking restrictions in Radlett passed to Hertsmere Borough Council earlier this year. Pay-and-display meters have been installed; the first hour at the front Newberries parade is free and your Council continues to pay in order to keep parking in Newberries car park free for the first hour.

The state of the roads in the parish is still less than satisfactory. We liaise with Highway Engineers but it is often difficult to get quick action; even small problems such as potholes and blocked gulleys often take a long time to rectify. Any residents encountering problems (potholes, pavement problems, blocked gulleys, faulty street lighting) can report them via www.hertsdirect.org/highwayfaults or 01923 471320.

The biggest long-term issue facing Radlett is that of the railway. Part of the Thameslink 2000 project is the upgrading of platforms on the Bedford/London line to take 12 coaches; Radlett station is the only station in Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire not to be earmarked for upgrade, even though we carry at least six times the number of passengers than from Harlington and Leagrave.

During the past few months finance for Thameslink project appears to be forthcoming; James Clappison, our MP, has asked questions in the House of Commons about why Radlett has not been earmarked for upgrade. The upshot is that a meeting has been arranged for James Clappison, David Lambert, Aldenham parish Council, and Clive Glover, the local representative of the Association of Rail Passenger Transport Users with Derek Twigg the Transport Minister. This meeting is scheduled for early May.

I find it difficult to conceive that the train service will not decline further if Thameslink 2000 goes ahead without Radlett being upgraded; we will keep you informed of progress in future issues of Around Radlett.

Councillor David Lambert, Chairman

Festival Sub Committee

The Radlett Festival will be held this year on 17/18th June and will consist of two events; a classical outdoor concert and the traditional Sunday Fair.

The first event is our “Picnic in the Park – a Magical Musical Evening”. This will be held at the Phillimore Recreation Grounds and will feature a wide variety of music including a choir, wind quartet, brass band, and jazz band. We would encourage you all to come along with a group of friends - bring your own picnic, tables and chairs and have a super evening listening to a wide variety of music. During the interval there will be some entertainment for your further enjoyment including fire dancing. Half the profit from this Concert will go to the Peace Hospice at Watford, the other half to the Youth Fund, to provide more activities for our youngsters within the village.

The Grand Fair, on the Phillimore Recreation Grounds, is the second main event of the weekend, on Sunday 18th June, starting at midday. There will be a wide range of food on offer (Indian vegetarian, meat barbecue, Chinese, tea and cakes, ice cream) so come early and have lunch here and then stay to enjoy the events of the afternoon. These include a magic entertainer, dancing, acting and singing displays from local groups, Dog Show, as well as stalls and a children’s fairground and go-carts. All the profits from this will go to the Youth Fund.

Councillor Mrs Viv Charrett, Chairman Radlett Festival Sub Committee

The Statement of Accounts 2005/06

		Year Ending
No.	Account Items	31 March 2005 £	31 March 2006 £
1.	Balances brought forward	93,356	138,107
2.	(+) Annual Precept	435,467	456,688
3.	(+) Total other receipts	66,616	94,303
4.	(-) Staff costs	219,236	219,643
5.	(-) Loan interest/capital repayments	900	898
6.	(-) Total other payments	245,197	299,822
7.	(=) Balances carried forward	138,107	168,735
8.	Total cash & investments	151,598	178,592
9.	Total fixed and long term assets	1,140,191	1,913,141
10.	Total borrowings	30,000	30,000