Minutes of the ANNUAL MEETING held at 8pm on Tuesday 8 April 2008 in The Auditorium, The Radlett Centre, Aldenham Avenue, Radlett.
Present:
In attendance:
Apologies were received from Councillors Mrs V Charrett, D Griffin, Mrs W Griffin and Mr and Mrs B Kenny.
The Minutes were confirmed and signed as a true and correct record.
The Chairman welcomed those present to the 110th Annual Meeting.
He welcomed the new Clerk, Mr Peter Evans and wished him every success in his new position.
A busy year ahead was expected beginning with the elections in May 2008.
The trees in the Parish had been badly affected with various blights including Bleeding Canker and Honey Fungus, as a result all of the trees owned by Aldenham Parish Council had all been surveyed by a tree expert and some of them would have to be felled in the near future, the most dangerous trees would be done first.
Sadly, the Fire Station finally closed but not without a huge campaign carried out by a dedicated committee and local residents.
An All Faiths Committee had been launched in order to continue good relationships within our community. A very successful Interfaith Concert had been held in September 2007 with over 400 people attending.
The Chairman announced Mrs Sally Hockaday as the winner of the Local Volunteer of the Year Award 2008. He presented her with an inscribed plague. The meeting was informed that a shield depicting the Parish Emblem would hang in the Council office and would be added to year by year. A bouquet of flowers was also presented to Mrs Hockaday, by Mrs Bonnie Joyce, who was the winner of the Award in 2008.
The speakers were Councillor Bill Pryce from St Stephen’s Parish Council and Mr Doug Hirst of STRiFE.
The proposed site for the possible Rail Freight Terminal was the former Handley Page Aircraft Factory, who ceased to operate in 1969. The land was now part owned by Hertfordshire County Council, LaFarge and Lord Verulam who leased it to Hedges Farm.
The proposals for the Rail Freight Terminal begun some 3 to 4 years ago and have so far cost the developer, Helioslough in the region of £3.5million.
The impact on Park Street and surrounding areas were huge, with 3000 lorry movements every 24 hours, that equated to one lorry movement every 2.8 minutes. The road mainly effected would be the A414, or in the case of the Parish of Aldenham the B462 and the A5183. The present unemployment figures for the area were currently running at 1.1% and therefore the majority of the 3000 employees needed on the site would have to travel in from surrounding areas by car, as would all utility vehicles.
As well as the increase in road traffic there would also be an increase in train movements, up to 24 additional trains in every 24 hours, each train would be 700 metres long and would mainly operate during the evenings and through the night.
If the Rail Freight Terminal were to go ahead it would wreck the environment and the surrounding villages and cause traffic chaos.
The Inquiry had lasted for thirteen weeks. The final decision was with the Secretary of State. The deadline for a result was 3 October 2008. If the Inquiry failed then it could go to a Judicial Review.
Questions to the STRiFE representatives:
Mr Gerald felt that the decision to go ahead with the Rail Freight had probably already been made.
He also asked if the Minister for Transport had any input into the inquiry.
STRiFe representatives responded that the Minister for transport would only intervene if the road was a motorway ie the M1 or the M25. However, as the A414 was a trunk road it was therefore the responsibility of Hertfordshire County Council.
Mr Taylor said that he thought that Helioslough claimed that a new rail freight terminal would take traffic and vehicles off roads.
Mr Pryce responded that the terminal would be a road to road interchange as opposed to a rail to rail interchange. Goods would arrive by rail, be dropped off on site with the majority going on their forward journeys by road.
County Councillor Martin Saunders responded HCC are opposed on a number of issues including traffic implications. Both James Clappison MP and Anne Main MP had spoken in the House against the proposals. Aldenham Parish Council had written in support of the opposition. Now it was a question of waiting for the Secretary of States decision.
Councillor Worthy thanked Mr Bill Pryce and Mr Doug Hirst for coming to the meeting and talking about the issues involved with the STRiFE campaign.
Mr Gerald said that he understood that the disabled access to the station was to be improved. He asked how that would affect the central platform.
Clive Glover responded that there would be no disabled access to the centre platform.
Mr Walton was concerned about the decline in shopping facilities also the police force and fire station.
Councillor Worthy responded that unfortunately the likes of Tesco’s and Sainsbury’s had driven local shops out.
Mr Walton also added that the work currently being carried out to the Flint Cottages was a disgrace and offered to give some replacement windows that he had in his possession. He further added that the rear of Barry Allsuch shops were full of rubbish and litter.
Mrs Clapper noted that the only fuel available at High Cross was oil, she wondered if gas was likely to be installed in the near future.
Councillor Worthy said he was not sure what the future plans were.
Mr Taylor asked if the entrance to Phillimore Recreation Ground could be improved.
Councillor Worthy replied that there were no plans at present.
He also added that the brick wall at the bottom of Shenley Hill had been broken for some time as had the fencing at Shenley Hill, he asked what plans to repair were in place.
Councillor Worthy responded that both matters were in hand and ongoing, the matter of the fencing at Shenley Hill was being treated as a priority.
Mr Taylor asked when the broken ticket machine in Newberries Car Park was going to be repaired or replaced.
Councillor Worthy responded that Hertsmere Borough Council had no plans to replace the machine.
Mr Taylor also added that the view from the Walkway from Newberries Car Park was appalling and full of rubbish. He also added that the some of the street furniture despite being broken and damaged had been repainted.
Councillor Worthy responded that Hertsmere Borough Council was trying to trace the landowners of the land either side of the Walkway.
The matter of repairs to repainted damaged street furniture was being dealt with by Hertfordshire Highways.
Mr Paul Marley thanked the Chairman, Councillors and staff for all their hard work during the past year.
Closure 9:40pm