LITTLE GADDESDEN PARISH COUNCIL MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE PARISH COUNCIL HELD IN THE COMMITTEE ROOM OF THE VILLAGE HALL on MONDAY 16th MAY 2011 PRESENT: Cllr. Adams (Chairman), Cllrs. Archer, Hyde, Irving, Kutluoglu and Lupton. Also in attendance, Herts C.C. Cllr. David Lloyd, Neighbourhood Sergeant Peter Huffer, Mrs. F. McWilliams (Clerk) and 47 members of the public. APOLOGIES: Cllr. Brattle (Vice-Chairman) and DBC Cllr. Tiley 1. MINUTES The minutes of the Annual Meeting dated 17th May 2010 were approved as drafted. 2. BUSINESS OF THE ANNUAL MEETING Election of Chairman: Cllr. Adams was proposed by Cllr. Lupton and seconded by Cllr. Archer. Cllr. Adams was duly re-elected. Election of Vice-Chairman: Cllr. Brattle was proposed by Cllr. Lupton and seconded by Cllr. Archer, and duly re-elected. The responsibilities of Councillors were agreed as follows: Cllr. Adams
Sports Field, Footpaths, Airports, Charities and Planning Cllr. Brattle
Village Hall, Dog Fouling and Planning Cllr. Archer
Play areas and Planning Cllr. Hyde
Tree Warden, Play areas, Disaster Planning and Planning Cllr. Irving
Parish Communications, Village Gateways and Planning Cllr. Lupton
Policing and Sports Field and Planning Cllr. Kutluoglu
expressed an interest in sports, planning and youth issues. It was agreed that he would assume responsibility for these areas and that, in view of Cllrs. Kutluoglu and Lupton’s responsibility for sport, Cllr. Adams would step back from this issue. Mrs. Jean MacIntrye asked how Cllr. Kutluoglu had been elected. Cllr. Adams explained that Little Gaddesden had a Council made up of seven councilors. The election was advertised on all of the village notice boards and Cllr. Kutluoglu was one of six candidates who had put their name forward. All six candidates had been duly elected. This left one vacancy and Cllr. Lupton had agreed to be co-opted. 3. ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COUNCIL Cllr. Adams welcomed everyone to the annual meeting. This was an opportunity to summarise Parish Council activities of the past year as well as looking forward. Cllr. Adams said that it had been a privilege to be chairman and he thanked the public for the confidence they had shown in him and the Council as a whole. Cllr. Adams thanked his fellow councillors for their efforts and industry. The Councillors gave of their time freely and did what they could within the constraints of their own busy lives. Everyone on the Council has made a strong contribution in some way during the last 12 months. Whilst it is a team effort, Cllr. Adams wanted to recognise Graeme Cannon’s 9 years of service on this Council. Graeme is stepping down. His input, on a wide ranging variety of village matters, has been extremely valuable. He opened up a useful link between the Parish Council and the National Trust. The Council welcomes Omer Kutluoglu who put his name forward to stand as a Councillor and John Lupton, who although he didn’t stand at the recent uncontested election, has agreed to be co-opted onto the Council for another term. The Village Plan remains a core reference document for the Council and whilst the Council’s limited funds do not always enable the Council to meet the high aspirations of the village, the targets remain clear. Open spaces - the Green continues to be an area in which the Council wishes to invest in and additional grass cutting, tree planting and major ongoing works to trees have been a major themes. The Council has financed a clamp for the playing field’s grass cuttings and facilitated a new picnic bench (with the help of village clubs) to further neaten the playing field. Malcolm Weaver and Rod Wilson are due a vote of thanks for their work in the Council’s efforts of making the village a smarter place. Dog owners have this year been provided with the dog bag dispensers as a means for clearing up after their dogs and the Council hopes those who don’t will now do so. Village Hall – the Council has continued to help the Village Hall management committee invest in this venerable building – the new fire doors, car park refurbishment and rear access have greatly improved this facility. The Village Hall will always be a high priority for the Council. In 2011-2012, the Council will turn its attention to the Sports Club to see how that it can be improved. Finance – the Council has undertaken a full review of the Council’s finances and Cllr. Adams was pleased to report that the Council now had a robust process to monitor and control expenditure and investment in projects in the Village. The Council’s approach is to offer the best value to village needs. Cllr. Adams was pleased to report that expenditure remained in line with resources and indeed allowed the Council to accelerate the 2011-12 spend on the village hall as well as keeping the proportion of council tax attributable to the Parish Council frozen at last year’s rates (despite 4% inflation and a lower contribution from Dacorum Borough Council. ) Play grounds - Cllr. Adams was pleased that a local volunteer group is still very much involved in the Cromer Close playground and that the Church Road play area is still being so well used. Traffic – which was to be discussed further - had been the one area where the Council’s efforts had been frustrated by influences outside both the Council’s direct control and budget. The Council’s survey last May revealed that over 50% of cars speed on the road from Dear Leap to the Village shop – a few over 60mph. The Council had asked Herts C.C. to consider reducing speed limits through the village and their own figures recorded cars on the Green at speeds of over 70mph and regularly up to 10 cars each day over 60mph. Despite their survey, Herts C.C. rejected our plans to lower speed limits. The Council had shared both surveys with the police and urged them to act on the Council’s concerns. The Council will continue to lobby Herts Highways as well as keeping discussions open with Borough and County representatives. Cllr. David Brattle had personally remade new Parish Council notice boards as these were looking sadly neglected – thanks in absentia. Gateways – the Council had supported the plan to have two new village gateway signs and are actively seeking approval for a third sign as drivers approach the village up Hudnall Lane. Planning – a substantial proportion of Council time continues to be taken up with planning issues and the Council ensures that all applications are seen by a minimum of 4 out of 7 councillors and more for major plans. Policing – thank you to PCSO Officer Kim Ashworth and PC Stuart Francis for reporting to/at meetings. There is still a concern that crime in our village is increasing despite the police reporting lower levels of crime. The Council will continue to be vigilant via the Neighbour Watch initiative but is very keen to see a greater police presence in both general patrols and speed monitoring. Based on an average council tax band of F/G, – the Council would expect 10p of every £1 of council tax to be spent on policing. This village’s contribution amounts to a figure of well over £100,000 – Cllr. Adams queried whether the village received value for money. Affordable Housing – another topic raised in the Village Plan. The Council had visited and reviewed a recently built affordable housing scheme in Chipperfield. The scheme had taken over 14 years to come to fruition. The starting point for any development is the availability of land. If land becomes available, this Council is more than happy to review affordable housing options. Warden services continue to be provided by Sunnyside Rural Trust and despite a cut in the warden allowance from Dacorum Borough Council, the Parish Council had resolved to find the additional financial resources to maintain current service levels. The Council would like to express its thanks to the Trust for their efforts. They spend every Tuesday morning in the village, collecting litter and emptying bins and are certainly making a difference. The Council and the village are extremely fortunate to have Fiona McWilliams next to, and often at the helm, to help us. She has done an excellent job again this year and on behalf of the whole village, a big thank you. Finally, the Council thanks the public for supporting (and indeed challenging) it in many ways and Cllr. Adams hoped and trusted that the public would continue to bring village matters and concerns to the Council’s attention in the future. The Council would continue to do its best to resolve parishioners concerns and keep Little Gaddesden the way both the Council and residents want. 4. DISCUSSION OF TRAFFIC AND SPEEDING ISSUES LED BY HERTS COUNTY CLLR. DAVID LLOYD Cllr. Adams explained that the Parish Council had started to focus on this issue in 2009. By way of summary, the Parish Council had tried to establish the facts as a starting point for understanding the issue; had worked with outside agencies because speeding was outside the Parish Council’s powers and financial capability; and, the Parish Council had followed initiatives of its own. The Parish Council had conducted two traffic surveys involving 96 hours of volunteer effort. Herts Highways had also conducted a speed strip survey over a 21 day period. The village survey had been carried out in four locations. The results showed that: - between Church Road and Ringshall, 93% of vehicles were within 10 mph over the speed limit - between Cromer Close and Hudnall Lane, 92% of vehicles were within 10 mph over the speed limit - between Little Gaddesden and Leighton Buzzard Road ( Hudnall Lane) 87% of vehicles were within 10 mph over the speed limit - between Dear Leap and the Post Office, 85% were within 10 mph over the speed limit For Herts Highways to take action, 15% of vehicles must be 10 mph over the speed limit. The survey showed that 90% of traffic drives within 10 mph of the speed limit. So in terms of establishing the facts, Highways argue that 88% of traffic drives within 5 mph of the speed limit and the Police will only focus on speeding as an issue where more than 15% of drivers exceed the limit. Yet 79 cars were driving at more than 71 mph along the Green during a three-week period. The Parish Council needs to work with outside agencies and have done so. The Council had met with the Police – PC Crawford Simpkins and PC Stuart Francis; it had met with Herts Highways; and it had met with Hertfordshire County Council (David Lloyd). In addition to working with these outside agencies, the Parish Council had taken several initiatives itself. It had financed the purchase of a speed gun. It had organised a volunteer group to man SID and if anyone wanted to volunteer again tonight they could do so. The information collated from those traffic surveys and in particular the hotspots for speeding and the times of day at which speeds and traffic were at their worst, had been passed to the police. The Parish Council had pursued the Gateway Project as a method of encouraging people to see the village as a special place which they should respect. The Parish Council had contacted the school and the management college to request that they broadcast the message of lower speeds to employees and parents alike. When people were late and moving too quickly to reach the school or the college this increased problem speeding within the village. The Parish Council had proposed a single speed limit throughout the village of 30 mph from Cromer Close to Ringshall and a reduction to the speed limit in Hudnall Lane. The Council had had a series of meetings with external agencies to discuss these adjustments to the speed limits but the proposals had been rejected. Cllr. Adams suggested that the Parish Council should challenge the ruling that there should be no change to the speed limits. More volunteers were required to man SID. The Gateway Project was to be completed. Cllr. Adams referred to the locality bill which offered the possibility of raising a local petition. The Council intended to press the police for greater use of the speed gun and to continue its dialogue with external agencies. In December 2010 the Parish Council had carried out a review of traffic calming measures. Following this review, the Parish Council was actively considering chicanes, pinch points and cushion humps. The Parish Council now intends to ask Highways to carry out a feasibility study in respect of whichever measure met with majority support. The public needed to be aware of the expense involved. When Potten End had looked at traffic calming measures, they had been informed that a "three road hump option" would cost £160,000. When the Council had reviewed the options available, the following emerged: - A vehicle activated roundel sign was not possible as the top 15% vehicles did not exceed the speed thresholds; - A hazard warning sign was not possible as there was no specific hazard; - Community Speed Watch, it was understood, had been rejected by Herts Police; - Rumble strips were considered to be unacceptable because of the noise impact on neighbouring properties. In conclusion, resolution of the issue of traffic and speeding was a long game. Little Gaddesden was not the only village suffering from speeding traffic. The Parish Council had had mixed success in its efforts to date. The refusal to decrease speed limits had been a bitter blow however there had been an improvement in the situation compared to five years ago. Police resources had been trimmed in the local area and the village had to be aware of the current economic backdrop and lack of funding to its efforts. The Parish Council continues to review the traffic calming measures available and would continue, to the best of its efforts, to progress the issue. Villagers as well as the rat runners had to take responsibility for this issue: "we are in this together". Cllr. Adams introduced David Lloyd of Hertfordshire County Council. David Lloyd thanked the Parish Council for inviting him to speak. He explained that he was the elected representative for the area so he was able to communicate to County Hall what it was that people wanted. However, he was also deputy leader of the County Council and had his finger on the pulse of the budget. As a County Council, Herts wish to be remembered for financial prudence but also localism. Localism gave power to County Councils to deal with local issues. For example, he had been able to give a grant towards the Gateway project. He had a budget of £90,000 for Dacorum and Broxbourne and, although there were a lot of calls on that funding, he was able to use it on matters of local importance. Talking of localism, Cllr. Lloyd said it was good to see so many people at the meeting but it didn't mean that people would get the outcome they wanted. How success is measured is difficult: some people will be inconvenienced by the measures other people want. The best result was that everyone would drive more carefully. Cllr. Lloyd wanted to start by correcting the misconception about the use of the 85 percentile. The survey conducted by Highways had been helpful, in some cases the speeds at which people were driving were frightening. The percentile enabled Highways to see what speed limit the public were keeping to. If 85% of drivers were doing less than 46 mph in a 40mph area then the police would not prosecute drivers doing 46 mph or under. If 85% of drivers were going through the village at 46mph or less, then that suggested that 40mph was the correct speed limit for the road. If drivers are exceeding the 40 mph speed limit, the implication is that the engineering of the road is such that the road is suitable for a 40 mph or more speed limit. If the village wants to make it a 30 mph road, engineering will be required. Signs simply won't work. People will drive to the road conditions. If the conditions permit them to drive faster than speed limits, then drivers will drive to the conditions rather than speed limit. If people are saying that the speed limit needs to be reduced, then some engineering work will be required there are any number of measures, such as chicanes and humps, to be considered. Cllr. Lloyd explained he had part financed an exhibition in Potten End to discuss some of the measures available. It was true that some of these measures were very expensive. However the majority of the cost was for the lighting required when humps or other traffic calming measures were installed. Whilst traffic calming measures were expensive, they were not impossible. He explained that Little Gaddesden could also have an exhibition and look at the engineering works that would be available. In Potten End, the results of the consultation had been very interesting and by far the largest vote (30%-40% of those taking part) was for the status quo. This was a good example of asking people what they wanted. Cllr Lloyd was putting £50,000 of funding towards repairing the kerb and footpath at Robin Hood House. He did suggest that he could hold off on this expenditure and see if it could be spent on traffic calming measures. However that might be unpopular. Not everyone wanted to see traffic calming measures. For example he noted from last year's minutes that Mr. Thompson had questioned why uniformity was required throughout the village albeit a sole voice against tackling speeding. In Little Gaddesden, the pockets of speeding were very localised. For example, in Alderton Drive, speeding would not affect residents in the same way as it would affect residents elsewhere. So there were some difficulties in pulling together everyone's wishes in a cost-effective manner and in effectively encouraging people to drive more slowly. David Lloyd pointed out that each of us has, within our own hands and for free, the ability to solve this problem by driving more slowly. Yet time and money will be spent effectively stopping people exercising their free will. David Lloyd noted that, once the village had speed limits it was happy with, the police and the mobile camera needed to be used to enforce those speed limits. So there were various arrows in the County Council’s quiver but engineering was the least likely both because of the expense and because it was unlikely to be what the majority wanted. Cllr. Adams invited the public to speak. Mrs. Jean McIntyre -Ringshall Road - in relation to the Parish Council traffic survey, the results were misleading because when vehicles saw the volunteers in their high visibility jackets they slowed down. Therefore the survey gave a false indication of the true speeds drivers had been doing. Mrs. Liz Toop – Nettleden Road - had followed a police car speeding through the village. She believed that people from the village were guilty of speeding. Cllr. Adams confirmed that when the survey had been undertaken, volunteers had recognised a lot of cars belonging to villagers. Mr. Paul Aziz – Brownlow Gate -when he had undertaken a survey in 2008-2009 he had to be visible. He saw people slow down as they approached. He felt that the speed sensor needed to be hidden if it was to give a realistic and accurate measure of the actual speeds at which people were driving. He had been raising the issues about the traffic situation in the village for years now. There are always excuses. But the speeds between Ringshall and the centre of the village and from the centre of the village to Nettleden were excessive. Along the stretch from Ringshall to the centre of the village were both houses and a footpath. It was unrealistic to think that people were comfortable using that footpath with cars going past them at 45-50 mph or even more. Mr. Aziz felt what we’re talking about here is both quality of life for villagers and their safety. It is only a matter of time before somebody is hurt. He believed Parish Council was on target. Cllr. Lupton noted that there were two separate issues: the problem at its source and the issue of enforcement, although these were complimentary. Active measures have a limited effect - limited to when they are actually there. People get used to passive measures. He had spoken to those who created the most traffic within the village -Ashridge Management College and the school. These two institutions generated a lot of traffic and both of them were willing to help. Mrs. Collette Newman – Brownlow Gate - invited Cllr Lloyd to visit her at home to experience the level of noise she experiences at her property. The speed at which lorries and cars came round the corner from Dagnall into the village was incredible. Cllr. Lloyd said that he was always very happy to visit residents but he was not sure what it would achieve as he already recognised the concern which she had. There were many areas in his patch, Luton Road in Markyate and Water End for example, where people were not content with either the volume or speed of traffic. Mr. Cory Wright - The Green - felt that the traffic was a danger to pedestrians. However he felt the danger to pedestrians was not from the speed of traffic but from the volume of the traffic. In the Cotswolds they have taken measures to control heavy transport through small villages. Mr. Cory Wright had written to the environmental adviser to the Chiltern Society to ask him to consider restricting heavy traffic but he had not received a reply. Mr. Cory Wright felt that both the volume as well as the speed of traffic should be targeted. Mr. Melville - Ringshall Road - asked why the Parish Council was considering further discussions about an issue which was already well established as a problem. He did not think another survey would help. In relation to the noise issue, he did not believe that the noise from speed humps would be as bad as the noise from traffic. He felt this was a simply ridiculous debate. This was a beautiful village and everyone simply wanted to make it nicer and safer; surely there could not be any further need to debate the need to make cars travel a bit slower. He had counted the number of signs in the village -there were 56. 29 signs on posts and 27 roundels on the road. It was a beautiful village littered with tin and paint. This was a democracy. If all 490 homes in the village signed the petition, those in power would listen. Mr. Ian Catchpole – Ringshall -we all exceed the speed limit. When it's icy we drive more slowly, when it's dry and bright, bearing in mind that the houses are set well back from the road, we feel we can go a bit faster. The number of signs within the village make it look more like a town than a village. He felt that if more signs were erected there would just be more signs for drivers to ignore. Drivers would drive as they saw fit. His view was that all the signs should be taken away and everyone should find a level of safe driving within the village. He said he thought the gateways were appalling. Mrs. Mo Grainger - Cromer Close - it seemed that when surveys were carried out the traffic slowed down. She asked why volunteers in high visibility jackets were not used to slow the traffic down, perhaps on a rota basis. She thought people might like to get involved. This was less intrusive and less expensive than other options. Mrs. Sandra Walsham –Ringshall - reported that rumble strips were so noisy and intrusive when they were installed in past, that they had been removed. Mr. Wim Tannett – The Green - had noted from the Hertfordshire Highways survey that over 200 cars a day had exceeded the 50 mph speed limit. He felt that when one considered the number of people who lived off The Green and had slowed either to enter or emerge from their driveways, the actual speed of traffic was far greater. Without police involvement, any measures taken were a waste of time. If a decent level of policing could be achieved, the matter could be resolved. Cllr. Adams invited Peter Huffer, the Neighbourhood Sargeant to speak at this point. He reminded Sgt Huffer that Little Gaddesden Parish Council had financed a speed gun and had also purchased a speed indication device. Sgt Huffer reported that PC Stuart Francis, the local constable, spent between 70 - 80% of his time on traffic issues. Of course this was not the only area he had to deal with. He was out 8 days out of 10 and Sgt Huffer felt that perhaps the problem was he was not communicating how much time the police were spending on this matter. Mr. Melville said that he had sent Stuart Francis an e-mail pointing out how traffic had slowed down when the survey was carried out. PC Francis had advised him that there was no chance he could allocate a useful amount of time to the issue of traffic speeding. He worked shifts and simply hadn't got the time that it would take to make an impact on this issue. Sgt Huffer said that the police were very restricted in that the speed gun could only be used in dry conditions, on a straight road, and where offending drivers could be pulled over. Cllr. Lupton asked whether there were any resources which the Parish Council could add in an effort to get regular and reliable policing. Sgt Huffer confirmed that the police would support any community initiatives. Mrs. Alison Townsend -Ringshall Road - suggested that the mobile speed camera van be brought to the village. Jackie Tannett – the Green - also asked for use of the van in the village. Sgt Huffer said that one thing he would take away from this meeting was the need for increased use of the van. The van had automatic plate recognition technology which enabled the police to tell if the car was stolen or uninsured. Cllr. David Lloyd reported that he'd met with Chris Millan, the Assistant Chief Constable, and thought that Asst Chief Constable Millan actually did support the community speed watch scheme. This was something that would need to be investigated further. Mrs. Virginia Westmacott – Hudnall Common - asked if the van had to be visible as this would allow drivers to slow down before they reached it. Sgt Huffer explained that, in order for the automatic plate recognition technology to work, the vehicles had to be travelling towards the van in a straight line. This led to the van being visible however the van in itself acted as a deterrent. Mrs. Anne Wooster - Nettleden Road - suggested that if the police could blitz the village once a week for a month, this village would get the reputation as a village where one didn't risk speeding. Mrs. Virginia Westmacott – Hudnall Common - asked how many people and been prosecuted for speeding in the village. Sgt Huffer explained that he did not have the figures with him. Mrs. Liz Toop – Nettleden Road – reported that a vehicle coming round the corner on the main road towards the village near the bottom of Hudnall Lane had very narrowly missed children walking along The Green. She felt that the fact there had been no fatalities to date was just luck. Anne Wooster - Nettleden Road - confirmed that when she lived at the top of Hudnall Lane, at Kingham Meadow, 13 vehicles had come through her hedge including a bus. Kate Howard – Nettleden Road - asked if Hertfordshire Police were signed up to the "drive aware" program. She had had to attend a drive aware program and one thing she had taken away from that experience was that it's not a case of “us and them”; people like us speed. Drive awareness educates people; it makes them more aware of the risks they are taking. She has seen people she knows speeding. The issue of speeding is a cultural one. It needs to be met with education. Cllr. Adams suggested that Trevor Fernandez consider this as a subject for a Gaddesden Society talk. Cllr. David Lloyd referred to the solution in Portugal where, if drivers exceeded the speed limit, a red light was activated. This was an elegant solution. Drivers learnt that it did not help them to speed. If they wanted to get somewhere quickly they couldn't speed because they will be stopped by the lights anyway. Mrs. Wendy Mitchell –Brownlow Gate - suggested that the shop was the best chicane we had. It stopped speeding traffic in that area. On the straight piece of road from Ringshall it wasn't possible to hide a speed gun or a speed camera van. Mrs. Mitchell felt we couldn't turn back time - cars and lorries will use the roads we just had to live with that however she was impressed with the chicanes at Nettleden where people had to slow down. Mr. Dennis Atkins - The Green - there were two issues: speed and danger. He was going to concentrate on danger. Between Church Road and the shop, the footpath was desperately narrow. There were two factors to consider. There was a step to a private house which jutted out into the road and forced cars to move out to the offside which is very dangerous. Secondly, the withdrawal of the toll through Ashridge had increased car volumes and as a consequence had led to an additional volume of traffic using the village as a rat run. The exit from the park was too wide. If it was possible to narrow the entrance, then people would have to stop in order to make the right hand turn from the village into the estate and this would slow the traffic down. Mrs. Katharine Charter- Ringshall Road -modelled her high visibility jacket. She wore it because the footpath is very narrow. She wanted to encourage everyone not to let go of the idea that traffic calming measures might work. The day of the speed survey was the safest day to walk to school because traffic slowed on sight of the high visibility jackets. The village did care about speeding. The survey backed up fact that there were speeding issues within the village. She did not feel we should give up, she did not want Little Gaddesden to be a Potten End. Mrs. Jean McIntyre - Ringshall Road - mooted the possibility of a roundabout at the entrance to the estate. In relation to the footpath, she had been in touch with Parish Clerk and she understood that the verge was the responsibility of Highways and hedges were the responsibility of the landowners. Mrs. MacIntyre wondered whether it might be possible to take a tougher line with landowners to encourage them to cut hedgerows back. Mr. Richard Brash - The Lye -traffic was a safety issue both in terms of speed and volume. His wife and young children walked along Hudnall Lane where there was no footpath. He was not sure what the solution was but perhaps it would be possible to encourage local people to get out their car. For example, it was unhelpful that no cycling was allowed on The Green. Mrs. Alison Townsend -Ringshall Road - she reiterated the point that cars parked outside the shop created a chicane. The police ought to turn up however when there were cars parked on the pavement. Any time there is a function at the Bridgewater Arms, cars park on the pavement and the only way to get past is for pedestrians to walk out onto the road and around the cars. If those cars parked on the road rather than the pavement, this would enable pedestrians to use the papavement and have the additional benefit that the cars parked on the road would slow the traffic down. Mr. Melville – Ringshall Road questioned how the Council could continue to debate this issue in the face of so many people making impassioned pleas for action. Mr. Matthew Hargreaves - Ringshall Road - suggested the effect of high visibility jackets on the traffic indicated that there was quite a lot we can do ourselves. Perhaps volunteers could man a gate into the estate, reinstating the toll and sharing the money with college. Mr. Hargreaves was tempted to purchase a second car and park it on the road as that it would slow traffic down. Cllr. Adams noted that the general feeling that some sort of chicane system seemed to be gaining popularity and would be considered further. Ms. Kate Howard –Nettleden Road -wondered if technology could be put in place to tell people their speed because sometimes people were unaware of the actual speed they were doing. Mr. John Mitchell - Brownlow Gate -felt that the case for tackling traffic and speeding had been made. He felt that the problem was one of a lack of policing and was beyond the capability of the Council. The roads were unpoliced. (There was general agreement amongst the audience with this assertion). Mr. Paul Aziz – Brownlow Gate - said that many fine suggestions had been made and now the Parish Councils knew how the residents felt. Chicanes seemed to be the least problematic of the traffic calming measures available. Mrs. Liz Toop – Nettleden Road -asked whether the kerbs on Nettleden Road were going to be dealt with. The Clerk said that this was in the integrated works program and Cllr. Lloyd reminded her that this was part of his budget and that £50,000 has been allocated to the reinstatement of the footpath. Mr. Simon Cole -Ashridge Cottages -Ashridge Cottages were in between two blind bends with traffic coming into the village from Nettleden along a straight piece of road. There was a skid mark outside the cottages about 30 m long where a car had realised it was going too fast toward the curve. The footpaths at that part of the village were very narrow. Mr. Tommy Tucker –Nettleden Road -suggested that Hertfordshire had the worst roads in the whole of south-east England. Surely the potholes would slow people down. Cllr. Adams thanked everyone for some very useful ideas. He thanked both Cllr. David Lloyd and Sgt. Huffer for attending. He hoped they would both take away from the meet the message the traffic and speeding was a priority for the village and the Parish Copuncil would now prioritise a list of action points. 5. REPORT FROM THE TRUSTEES OF THE LITTLE GADDESDEN CHARITIES Cllr. Adams explained that the Little Gaddesden Charities had a modest amount of money available for people in need and all requests were dealt with confidentially. Cllr. Adams reported that Cllr. Archer had very kindly agreed to take over his responsibilities and represent the Parish Council as a Trustee. 7. CONSIDERATION OF WRITTEN RESOLUTIONS OF WHICH NOTICE HAS BEEN GIVEN No notice of any written resolutions had been given. 8. AOB Mrs. Mo Grainger asked who would take over environmental issue now Cllr. Cannon had resigned. Cllr. Adams said this would be decided at the next meeting. The business of the Annual General Meeting concluded at 9.50 pm.  < close window
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