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 02 November 2015 at 8pm
at the Clarion Collection Hotel, Holywell Hill.
1. Present: Avril Allen, Bernadette Blade, Kam Cheung, Charles Davies, Anthony Hyde, Claire Hyde, Linda Matthewman, Cathy Jones, Angela King, Roger Morton, Cllr Chris White
2. Apologies for absence: Katie Barron, Tim Boatswain, Cllr Alec Campbell, Jenny Johnson
3. Minutes of previous meeting: The minutes of the meeting held on Monday 07 September 2015 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 £274.22 in the bank which included a £20 donation from Katie Barron for the use of the bouncy castle during her son’s party. Roger Morton informed the meeting that our annual application for the £100 Council grant had gone through and will be received into our bank account shortly.
6. Our local environment:
• Lorry ban / speed restriction / pinch-point in Sopwell Lane: Cllr Chris White informed the meeting that he had recently signed off a ‘soft consultation’ letter from Herts County Council for residents to comment on. This letter will soon be distributed around the neighbourhood.
• Green oasis in Sopwell Lane: Work on planting will recommence in the Spring. Roger has asked St Albans District Council to remove the litter bins.
• Condition of wall at Holywell Hill end of Sopwell Lane: The matter has reached an impasse. Any action will need to be agreed between the owners of the property and St Albans District Council.
• Void in Albert Street (in the boundary wall of Ryder Seed Mews): Phil Bruce-Green (Parks & Green Spaces Officer) is working on a proposal to open up the void by removing the front part of the wall. This would let in more light and make planting possible.
• Improving access to Albert Street Car Park: Roger has asked St Albans District Council for assistance in estimating the cost of the necessary work so that an application for a grant from the City Neighbourhoods Committee can be submitted.
• Flattening of speed cushions in Albert Street: Cllr Chris White advised that Eurovia (who resurfaced Albert Street) have had their contract terminated by Hertfordshire County Council. HCC will now ask a new contractor to sort out the speed cushions. A new start date is to be confirmed.
• Keyfield Terrace Car Park: We are advised that the revised parking fees to allow for 1 hour parking at a reduced rate will come into effect later this month.
• Pearce’s Walk planter: A decision has yet to be reached with regard to the possible planting of this void space.
• Weeds Clearance: Cllr Chris White continues to chase Hertfordshire County Council to sort this out.
7. City Neighbourhoods Committee:
• Roger attended the meeting on 22 September 2015. The minutes of this meeting are available on the District Council website
• The next meeting is on 09 December 2015. Please let Roger know if there is any matter you would like him to take to the CNC.
8. Christmas meal at Café Rouge: Thirteen members of SAPHRA had booked for the meal and at the meeting two more asked to be included.
9. SAPHRA Seasonal Greetings card and invitation to New Year get together: The meeting agreed to hold the New-Year get together on Tuesday 12 January 2016. Roger offered to design the card and would see if we could, again, get it printed by SALPS printers. Several members offered to help with the distribution. The meeting agreed to hold the get together at The White Lion. (After the meeting it was discovered that the pub will probably be closed for refurbishment on that date so an alternative arrangement will be made.)
10. Any other business:
• Registering pubs as Assets of Community Value: Roger explained that it was possible to register a pub as an Asset of Community Value which makes it harder for a pub to be closed without consultation. After a short discussion the meeting agreed that this would be worth pursuing for the pubs in our area. Roger agreed to investigate and report back to the next meeting.
• Roger mentioned that he had been advised by Cllr Alun Davies that Affinity Water is going to replace water mains in Sopwell Lane, Albert Street and Keyfield Terrace. The work is due for completion by the end of August 2016. Any residents affected by this work will receive a letter to advise them in advance. Vulnerable and elderly residents are being advised to notify Affinity Water of their special needs at www.affinitywater.co.uk or by telephone to 03453 572407.
11. Date of next meeting: To be held on Monday 18 January 2016.
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).