Minutes of the meeting on 11 July 2016

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 11 July 2016 at 8pm
at the Clarion Collection Hotel, Holywell Hill.

1. Present: Avril Allen, Bernadette Blade, Kam Cheung, Charles Davies, Pamela Johnson, Catherine Jones, Angela King, Roger Morton, Mary Plackett

2. Apologies for absence: Katie Barron, Tim Boatswain, Cllr Alec Campbell, Anthony Hyde, Jenny Johnson, Cllr Chris White

3. Minutes of previous meeting: The minutes of the meeting held on Monday 09 May 2016 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, by email, that the balance in the bank still remained at £354.22.

6. Our local environment:

  • Lorry ban / speed restriction / pinch-point in Sopwell Lane:  Cllr Chris White has signed off the next stage which is the formal consultation.
  • Green oasis in Sopwell Lane: Angela King will contact Darryl Stannard with regard to the continued improvements to the green oasis.
  • Missing bollards in Sopwell Lane (near the Hare And Hounds): Herts County Council confirmed that the bollards were removed sometime between 2012 and 2014 but have informed Cllr Chris White that they will not be replacing them.
  • Void in Albert Street (in the boundary wall of Ryder Seed Mews): The cost of this is now estimated to be around £2000. Only one of our three Ward Councillors has so far approved it. Roger is continuing to pursue this.
  • Improving access to Albert Street Car Park: Roger is still awaiting an estimate from St Albans District Council for the removal of the kerb stones. So far, only one of our Ward Councillors appears to be in favour of this work. Roger is continuing to pursue this.
  • Reinstatement of speed cushions in Albert Street: Cllr Chris White stated, in an email, that he is more optimistic about the reinstatement of the speed cushions since a new budget may have been found.
  • Pearce’s Walk planter: Roger and Cathy Jones will be sowing wild flower seed in October 2016. The planting of shrubs, as originally planned, would have been too costly due to the number required.
  • Path pipes (cross-pavement rain water drainage): Cllr Chris White is still seeking clarification with regard to who is responsible for faulty path pipes and how to go about repairing them.

7. City Neighbourhoods Committee:

  • The minutes of CNC meetings are available on the District Council website
  • At the meeting on 08 June 2016 the newly elected Chairman, Cllr Alun Davies, stated that he was keen to improve the efficiency of the CNC and to redefine it’s purpose. All members were placed into small discussion groups and asked to come up with ideas on how to run the sessions. Cllr Alun Davies will come back with a programme based on the feedback from the meeting.

8. Registering pubs as Assets of Community Value: Roger will bring the required application form to the next meeting for members to sign in support of their chosen pub, The White Hart Tap.

9. Preparations for family barbeque: Anthony Hyde will be booking the bouncy castle. Roger asked for any willing volunteers to meet and greet and possibly recruit new members. Roger will produce a double sided invitation for the family barbeque and the AGM. Avril Allen, Pam Johnson, Angela King and Mary Placket offered to help deliver them.

10. Preparations for AGM: All current Office holders are willing to stand again for the coming year.

11. Register of local contractors: It was agreed that it would be useful for SAPHRA to maintain an informal list of local contractors who had successfully carried out work for residents of our area. PLEASE let Cathy know if you wish to recommend any local business that has done work for you by supplying the name of the business, the work that they do and their contact details. You can post them at 102 Albert Street if you have an allergy to computers.

12. Changes to controlled parking Zone M: All residents of zone M will be receiving a consultation questionnaire. Please respond to this consultation to ensure your views are heard.

13. Any other business: It was mentioned that unwanted furniture had been placed outside a sold property for free collection and was proving a hazard to pedestrians due to limited pavement space.

14. Dates:

Family Barbeque: Sunday 04 September 2016 – (confirmed booking at the White Lion pub, Sopwell Lane)

Next SAPHRA meeting: AGM to be held Monday 05 September 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).