Author: SSPC Office Admin
News from the Parish Council
Events
– We are thrilled to be running ‘A Coronation Festival’ in Greenwood Park Saturday 6 May 3-10pm.
Following on from last year’s festival we will be having live music throughout, a screen showing coronation highlights, our very wonderful Elvis Shmelvis hosting, many more food and drink stalls, children’s activities and of course our firework finale!! All welcome and this event is free ⭐️
– Armed Forces Day event is on Sunday 25 June. A wonderful event for the whole family with plenty of exciting displays and parade, held 2:30-5pm at the Parish Centre in Bricket Wood.
Green spaces
– Woodbury Field play area
The start date for phase 1 works is planned for 28 March and we are looking at a 4-week build. We would welcome feedback on this once complete and will consult on phase 2.
– Woodbury Field drainage
We have had significant issues with drainage of the site before works can start. A contractor came in and blasted the area with compressed air to a depth of 1m, which has allowed the surface water to work its way down to that depth.
When they were doing the work they hit an old fashioned clay drainage system that was still working but blocked. The grounds staff dug down and put a pipe coming off this old system and directed the water into the ditch on Lye Lane. The water came out of the pipe constantly for nearly two weeks and the site has dried up significantly. We also undertook the clearing of the ditches in the area, allowing all the water to now drain away from the site. We liaised with the different companies (Cadent, MLS Traffic, district and county council and the landowners) and did the work on the same traffic measure as the Cadent works, which saved significant costs for the council and other disruption to the general public having more road works in the area.
Well done to our grounds staff for their tenacity in solving this tricky issue!
– Tree work
All safety and general planned maintenance tree work will be completed by the end of March.
– Park Street Recreation Ground play area
We are soon going out to tender on phase 2 of the play area and hope to install after the school holidays to avoid any inconvenience.
Fixed Asset consultation
– We have appointed our independent consultancy company to review the options available to the parish council in relation to our Fixed Asset Strategic Review. Once we have held initial meetings, we hope to provide further details. Things are moving forward!
Greenwood Park
– A baby change room is now up and running in the Public Toilet opposite Lazy Llama Café. Open 8am – 5pm, 7 days a week.
We have created this with limited funds and space options but were keen to provide this much needed facility for our park visitors. We hope to include an improved family changing room option as part of future developments at Greenwood Park. New signage will be installed outside the Community Centre so it can be seen from the car park and pathway up from the playground to direct visitors.
New Community Garden
– Last week councillors voted for Grow Chiswell Green to be given a site in Greenwood Park to make a Community Garden. Our Senior Grounds Person met with Christy Mitchell last week to mark out the site. They are very excited to start their project.
We welcome residents to get involved and contact info@growchiswellgreen.org
Waste
– We are getting a lot of household waste and black bags full of dog waste put into the bins around our parks. This should all go in the brown general waste bins that SADC provide. Please can residents be more considerate with their waste!
Other news
Nominations are now open for the BBC Make a Difference Awards. Honour someone who always goes above and beyond. Entries close at 11pm on 05/03/2023. See a full list of categories here bbc.in/makeadifference
Local Elections – Thursday 4 May 2023
The information in this article has been provided by St Albans City and District Council.
From 4 May 2023, voters will need to show photo ID to vote at polling stations in the district. A wide range of photo ID will be accepted, including passports, driving licences and cards with a PASS Mark.
For more information on which forms of photo ID will be accepted, visit www.electoralcommission.org.uk/voterID or call the Electoral Commission helpline on 0800 328 0280.
If you don’t already have an accepted form of photo ID, or you’re not sure whether your photo ID still looks like you, you can apply for a free voter ID document, known as a Voter Authority Certificate. You can apply at www.gov.uk/apply-for-photo-id-voter-authority-certificate. The deadline to apply for a Voter Authority Certificate in time for the 4 May elections is 5pm Tuesday 25 April 2023.
The following elections are taking place on Thursday 4 May:
- Around a third of District Council seats will be contested, with elections taking place in all wards except Colney Heath and Marshalswick West.
- All seats are up for election at the following Parish and Town Councils: Colney Heath, Harpenden Rural, Harpenden Town, London Colney, Redbourn, Sandridge, St Michael, St. Stephen, and Wheathampstead. A Community Governance Review has resulted in changes to some parish ward names, areas, and councillor numbers.
- Neighbourhood Plan Referendums are taking place in Wheathampstead and Redbourn.
To have your say in May, make sure that you are registered to vote, especially if you have recently changed address. A registration form is available at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote or request a paper form by calling Electoral Services on 01727 819294. The deadline to register to vote is Monday 17 April 2023.
Information about Voter ID requirements, the elections, and how to apply for a postal or proxy vote can be found at: www.stalbans.gov.uk/voting-and-elections.