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PRESS RELEASE – 27/01/2022

London Colney Parish Council Celebrate that Hertsmere Borough Council Shelve Local Plan, Including Proposed Bowmans Cross Development of 6000 Homes on Green Belt.

London Colney Parish Council are celebrating that Hertsmere Borough Council took the decision to shelve it’s Draft Local Plan at their full council meeting on Wednesday 26^th January.

We have been working with Colney Heath Parish Council (Standing Up for the Colneys Campaign) and residents, to keep pressure on Hertsmere, objecting to the proposed Hertsmere Local Plan which designated 6000 homes to be built on the greenbelt around London Colney, which aside from the loss of natural habitat, would have put untold pressure on local services, schools and road networks.

Cllr ‘Dreda Gordon said ‘This is fantastic news, along with the emerging London Colney Neighbourhood Plan, now drawing to its final stages. London Colney Parish Council is committed to protecting our environment against inappropriate development and the negative impacts that can have on the London Colney community.’

Chair of Council and its planning committee Councillor Malcolm MacMillan added;

“I am pleased that all the hard work we did with encouraging people to send in their individual objections, has paid off so I congratulate the villagers who were part of the 20,000 responses.

He concluded that Hertsmere Council had been ‘found out’ for the weaknesses in its development plan, including an excess of houses, over and above that which was required “THIS IS A MAJOR VICTORY FOR PEOPLE POWER”

Recent public consultation on the Hertsmere Local Plan received 20,000 responses rejecting the draft plan, resulting in our greenbelt being saved, and residents of London Colney and Colney Heath, being able to continue enjoying the surrounding countryside.

For further information please contact the Parish Council 01727 821314

We have a vacancy for a member of staff to join our grounds team.  If you like working outdoors and have a minimum of 1 year’s experience in horticulture or grounds maintenance, we would love to hear from you.

Ideally, we’d like you to have a year’s experience in horticulture or grounds maintenance and have a full driving licence.

Please give us a call on 01727 821314 or email parishclerk@londoncolney-pc.gov.uk for an application form.

In March 2022 we will be hosting the 3rd London Colney Community Awards! Over the past 2 years we have seen our community support each other, and go above and beyond for each other, to support those in need, our neighbours and businesses throughout the pandemic/Covid-19 crisis, which has effected every person in our community.  Now is the time for us to recognise those unsung heros!

Nominations for the London Colney Community Awards are now open!

Nominations close on Monday 31st January to be considered for an award.

Winners will be announced on Friday 11th March from 7pm at the Caledon Community Centre at the Community Awards Ceremony.

There are 3 categories you can nominate for:

Complete your nominations on the online form below:

https://forms.office.com/r/CvVLV1RFa1

Paper versions of the form are available from the Parish Council office, and can also be found on page 7 of the December issue of the London Colney News.

We have responded to the latest consultation of Hertsmere on their proposals to develop 6,000 homes on the boundary of London Colney and Colney Heath.

Our response can be found here HBC Local Plan Reg 18 Response Dec 2021

The parish council held an information event on Wednesday 10 November, attended by local politicians and the master developer for the site.

The meeting was streamed live on Facebook and a recording can be viewed here

More information on Hertsmere Borough Council’s proposals can be found on their website:

https://www.hertsmerelocalplan.com/site/homePage

Further information can be found at an event being held at the Caledon Community Centre on Saturday 20 November, 1130-1730 http://www.bowmanscross.co.uk/

London Colney Parish Council Firework Display is back for 2021!

The annual London Colney Parish Council Firework Display returns on Sunday 7th November 2021.
Join us and be wowed at our 25 minute display.
Gates open at 5pm, display starts at 6pm

Enjoy a choice of food vendors, coffees, hot chocolates and mulled wine, along with fun fair rides and games.

Venue – Morris Way Playing Fields, White Horse Lane, London Colney, HERTS, AL2 2JP
Please only attend the event if you have a ticket. – link for tickets below.

Due to the popularity of the is event, we will be operating a ticket system for this event.

A £1 Charity contribution per person will be requested when booking your fireworks tickets.  All people in your party will require a ticket.

This years’ fireworks will be supporting the following charities;

London Colney Hedgehog Rescue

The Peace Hospice

1st London Colney Scouting Group

St. Peters Church London Colney

Tickets are now sold out.  Please attend if you have tickets.

Tickets will be scanned on the gates to the event, you do not need to print out your tickets, tickets can be scanned from your phone.

Covid Safety:
Where possible please will all members of your party complete a lateral flow covid test prior to attending the event.  These can be ordered free of charge from the government website, as well as being available via most pharmacies. If this test is positive, please do not attend the day.

You are welcome to wear a facemask at the event.  Facemask wearing is not mandatory outside and is a personal choice.

Please do not attend if you have:
Any Coronavirus symptoms – high temperature, continuous cough, loss of taste or smell
Been instructed to self-isolate following a positive test
Been in contact with someone who has tested positive to Coronavirus in the last 2 weeks and your vaccination status requires you to self-isolate.
Returned from a country in the last two weeks which the government states you must self-isolate upon your return.

If Government guidance or regulations change between time of booking and the event, we will be in contact to update you about Covid-19 safety at the event.  If the event has to be cancelled, your ticket donation will still be passed to the charities being supported.

Personal Fireworks:
Please do not bring personal fireworks, including sparklers to the event.  Any persons bring personal fireworks (including sparklers) to the event will be asked to leave.

Parking:
The is no on site parking at the firework display, including disabled parking.  A road closure will be in operation outside the ground.  Please walk to the event where possible.  The nearest public carpark is located on Haseldine Road, by the Co-Op.

Litter:
Please use the litter bins provided at the event, or take it home with you.

We can’t wait to see this being built at Morris Recreation Ground. We’ve appointed Splash as our contractor, who is based at Chawston in Bedfordshire. The majority of the work will be completed before Christmas with the finishing touches in the Spring of 2022.

We’re also going to be installing a container cafe so you can pick up your coffee for your dog walk, or enjoy an ice cream while the kids are playing.

The splash pad will be open in mid-May and we look forward to welcoming you all.

London Colney Parish Council remains opposed to the proposed development of 6000 homes at Bowmans Cross, on the boundary with London Colney and Colney Heath.  Cllr MacMillan, Chairman of the Parish Council said, “We demand that our residents are properly consulted with on the new plans for the site, given the enormous impact that the development will have on the area including the increase in traffic movements through the village with the additional demands on our infrastructure.  The claims made by Hertsmere BC that the land in question is not high quality, unspoilt countryside goes against what residents know to be true; that the area in question is used by residents to enjoy the countryside on their doorsteps, which will be destroyed by the proposed development.  If the site wasn’t high quality, then why is it designated as part of the Watling Chase Community Forest?”

 Cllr Dreda Gordon said, “The use of Green Belt for development should be the last resort when all other sites including landfills and brownfield sites have been exhausted.  We see no evidence of Hertsmere BC using this approach before sacrificing this land, the development of which will see disruption removed from the voters of Hertsmere. The Government’s Planning Policy Framework recommends strong policies to defend Green Belt and Community Forest areas in order to stop urban sprawl and the proposed development, which will merge with London Colney and Colney Heath, will see a settlement the same size as Radlett to the South of St Albans.”

 London Colney Parish Council will continue to work with Colney Heath Parish Council to fight this development and will be jointly organising public meetings for residents to have their say. We would welcome Hertsmere BC councillors to attend these meetings.

A section of the High Street near the junction of Morris Way will be closed due to gas main repairs.

An alternative route will be via Morris Way, White Horse Lane, High Street and Morris Way.

If the Order is made, it shall come into force on 6 September 2021 for a period of up to 18 months. However, the restrictions specified shall only take effect at the times indicated by signs on or near the Road. Keep your eyes open for signs which will advise when the road closure will come into force.

NHS Herts Valleys Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), the local NHS organisation responsible for planning and paying for health care for residents across west Hertfordshire, is looking for feedback on urgent care services provided at St Albans City Hospital.

Urgent care services treat people who need prompt support within a few hours or on the same day for an illness or injury that isn’t life-threatening (e.g. sprains, fractures, wounds, minor burns and scalds, removal of foreign objects and minor illnesses such as coughs, diarrhoea and vomiting, infections and skin rashes). The CCG wants to better understand how these services are used and what’s important to people as they decide how to develop urgent care provision in St Albans alongside other healthcare services in West Hertfordshire.

The CCG has reviewed services at Hemel Hempstead and Watford General Hospitals, both of which have urgent treatment centres (UTCs). Urgent care services in Hertsmere are also being reviewed.

St Albans City Hospital currently has a Minor Injuries Unit at St Albans City Hospital. This was temporarily closed in April 2020, when West Herts NHS Trust staff were redeployed to support the pandemic response. It remains closed because the whole of St Albans City Hospital needs to stay a COVID-19 free site for the safety of all patients and so that planned (elective) surgery can safely take place there.

The CCG now needs to decide what sort of urgent care service to provide at St Alban’s City Hospital once we can reopen services there. We will make that decision based on information that we have gathered about how services have been used and also based on the feedback from this engagement about the needs and views of the people who use the St Albans service.

If you’d like to participate in the survey, please use the link below:

St Albans City Hospital Minor Injuries Survey