Minutes of the meeting on 06 March 2017

Minutes of Meeting held on Monday 06 March 2017 at 8pm
at the Clarion Collection Hotel, Holywell Hill.

1.    Present:  Avril Allen, Bernadette Blade, Jacqueline Briggs, Charles Davies, Mary Green, Anthony Hyde, Pamela Johnson, Catherine Jones, Angela King, Roger Morton, Mary Plackett, Cllr Chris White

2.    Apologies: Tim Boatswain, Cllr Alec Campbell, Kam Cheung, Jenny Johnson

3.    Minutes of previous meeting: The minutes of the meeting held on Monday 23 January 2017 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 the balance in the bank to be £389.22.

6.    Our local environment:

  • Lorry ban / speed restriction / pinch-point in Sopwell Lane: With regard to the proposed 20mph Zone, Cllr Chris White informed the members that due to an incorrect email address some of the resident’s feedback from the Public Consultation letter had not been received. Members were asked to resubmit their comments by email to tro@hertfordshire.gov.uk or alternatively write to Highways, PO Box 153, Stevenage, SG1 2ST, heading their replies Sopwell Lane & Riverside Road 20mph Zone, by Tuesday 21st March 2017. Once the 20mph Zone has been approved he will then be in a position to kick-start work on the parking and pinch point issue in Sopwell Lane.
  • Green oasis in Sopwell Lane: Angela, Roger and Cathy will arrange to meet to review the current collection of plants awaiting planting and to view the Green Oasis site. A working party will then be set up to resume gardening works in April 2017.
  • Void in Albert Street (in the boundary wall of Ryder Seed Mews): Anthony Hyde reported that he had approached the Ryder Seed Mews Association with regard to the void in Albert Street and was promptly recruited onto their Committee. He informed members that they will be discussing the Albert Street void at their next meeting on 18 April 2017.
  • Improving access to Albert Street Car Park: Roger reported that the budget for these works has been granted and that he will meet with Cllr Alun Davies and Debbie White (Head of Community Services) to confirm the details.
  • Consultation on controlled parking zone M & N: Roger to consult with Cllr Alun Davies.

7.    City Neighbourhoods Committee:

  • Roger will be representing SAPHRA at the next meeting on Wednesday 08 March 2017.
  • The minutes of CNC meetings are available on the District Council website.

8.    Registering pubs as Assets of Community Value: Roger apologised for the lack of recent progress due to having a very busy work schedule but assured members that the completion of the nomination form will happen soon.

9.  Any other business:

It was agreed that the date for the Family Barbeque would be 03 September 2017 and Roger will enquire whether we can hold it at the White Hart Tap Pub.

10.  Date of next meetings: Monday 08 May 2017, 03 July 2017, 04 September 2017 (AGM)

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).