Bayford Parish Council

Minutes of the Meeting held on Monday 27th March

The Parish Assembly 2006.

Cllr M. Wainright
Cllr J Fulcher
Cllr R Callaby
Cllr A Fizjohn
Cllr G Rowley
Mrs H Golding (Clerk)

Guests: Paul Weston and Neil Major Community Police Officers

Apologies: Linda Haysey

Playground

Work has continued through the year on cutting back the trees and making the park area lighter and more attractive. Two large trees have been removed, one of which has been made into a bench. The large oak tree has been made safe. Plans to re-site the playground have been shelved due to finding an adequate alternative site and cost.

Grass Verge/Pond

Peter Musk has been busy tidying various trees and growth along the verges this year and will be pollarding the trees by the pond and removing those that have collapsed. This part of the work was delayed due to some of his equipment being stolen from his yard. The contractors employed by the local council to cut the grass around the pond, despite it being the Parish Council’s responsibility. The Parish Council is currently in correspondence with them.

Rose Triangle

Having had a couple of years of being left in the wilderness a group of volunteers from Broad Green Wood spent a Friday and Saturday digging it over making it look nice. Unfortunately that same weekend a car cut across one of the corners and left tyre tracks.

Village Sign

Thanks to Mr Brocklehurst, Neville Hudson, Rodney Callaby and Alan Fitzjohn for their efforts in making the Village sign happen and which has now been erected behind the rose triangle. Although some thought it a little tall, the base of bricks still need to be put down and it was generally considered the right height to stop children form swinging on it.

Bus Shelter/Parish Notice Board

The shelter was badly damaged by vandals pulling the lining and removing tiles on the roof. This has been repaired and the inside lined with wood. The broken glass of the notice board was also replaced.

Nine Acre Field

Continues to be a saga it is still for sale approx Ł150,000 local people were hoping to purchase it but the price is prohibitive.

Gravel

The Inspector ruled SQs contention that the reduction in the expected yield of gravel at the Hatfield site was just reason to revisit the Broad Green/Bayford Hall sites' was not valid. However, that does not mean that at the next review in a few years it will not be raised again. The main concerns for the Parish Council now is the grading of waste to be deposited which is currently Grade A inert, but this does not stop them from applying for change of use to include household waste etc.

Bayfordbury

Since St Joseph’s in the Park pulled out of the purchase for Bayfordbury House it has now been sold to convert into apartments.

Guest Speakers

The guest speakers were Paul Weston and Neil Major, PCSOs with Hertfordshire Constabulary.

Paul Weston, Police Community Support Officer who covers the area of Bayford and beyond gave us an overview of the patch he covers and that of his colleague Neil Major approx 872 miles each. To date the crime figures for the area are down 25% with just 6 crimes being reported since January. There are now 150 Community Support Officers in Herts.

They are pushing for neighbourhood watch schemes and the main contact to help set one up is Gill Dockley.

A meeting on the 20th April is being held by the Locality Policing Board for people in the area to have a say of what they feel needs addressing.

There is also a scheme open to the elderly and single parents etc for a crime prevention officer to survey properties and where improvements could be made funding could be made available depending on the individual’s circumstances.

Burglary & Theft - The most common crime at this time of year is Shed break-ins due to people purchasing new equipment for their gardens for the coming summer months. Paul advised everyone to make sure the sheds have adequate locks etc and keep a look out for people behaving suspiciously.

A New control room at Welwyn has now been opened and Paul would be happy to organise a trip for anyone who would be interested to see how it operates.

A number of residents contributed to the discussion on problems in the village. The main concerns were

Bayford Station – lighting, surveillance cameras, and parking.
The Parish Council have in the past asked Rail Track to do something about CCTV etc but unfortunately this fell on deaf ears. Paul mentioned a temporary camera is available and normally rotates every 2-3 weeks must be authorised by the Chief Inspector. It may help as a deterrent for vandalism etc and may help the fight to get something more permanent depending on the evidence gathered. It was mentioned that parking on the road instead of the car park continues to be a problem, Paul is already in discussions with Mr Whittaker with regards to the blocking of his right of way and has given him letters to put on the offending vehicles windscreens.
Speeding along Ashendene Road.
Speeding is becoming more prevalent and vehicles quite often misjudge the bend ploughing through the rose triangle. Many traffic-calming measures were mentioned but the general consensus was that it was important not to lose the rural feel of the village that speed humps etc could contribute to. Paul will look into the use of hand held cameras for a short period, the feeling between all that 6-9am and 5-8pm being the most troublesome times of the day.
Unwanted visitors at the Flats.
Recently youngsters have been roaming the hallways to the flats and in some instances the evidence of someone sleeping there. Paul will organise a survey to be done and liase with Riverside Housing.
Litter.
The problem of litter in the parish was raised. The Chairman stated that Tanya Turner was employed by this Council on 'litter picking' in the centre of the village, and that a second Village Clean Up had been organised for St George's Day.

George Rowley took the opportunity to advertise the St Georges Day Litter Picking Event, more people the better to cover the areas from B158, Bayford Station and White Stubbs Lane.

Michael Wainright thanked those present for attending and the councillors and clerk for their work through the year.

On behalf of the villagers, David and Susan Latham expressed their thanks to Michael and the Councillors for all their work throughout the year.