Sunday 29th June 2008

After a cloudy start, volunteers turned up at around 9:30am working feverishly to assemble the Gazebo and Marquee, involving three intelligent men (or at least they think so) trying to sort out the poles and where the bits went. The PTA were busy setting up the BBQ and other stall holders started setting up their table displays.

When 12 O’Clock turned, the sun came out quite strongly and by the time the first act started people began to arrive in good numbers. Informal picnics started in the centre of Roestock Park and the queues began for the excellent Hot dogs and Burgers at the BBQ.

A stunning display from MAD Mountain bike team, some dare devil stunts whilst balancing on two wheels some 10 foot of the ground. The Land Rover base provided all of the ramps and frames to perform their amazing stunts with a commentary by the leader explaining all their manoeuvres and features. One leap off the platform over a volunteer on the ground was performed with extreme accuracy which amazed the audience.

During the afternoon our old friends Balloonatic arrived to entertain the children whilst wondering around making all sorts of crazy shapes with their balloons. Face painting was a hit with the children and pasta necklaces made in the Generic workshop were very popular. We must not forget Phil from Booster cushion the story teller, who worked very hard and transfixed the children with his amazing acts and changing of clothes for over an hour. He is certainly one to put on our list for next year.

A drama display from Townsend School drew an interested crowd to their performance.
We had the Operatic Society with strong voices performing Gillbert and Sullivan -Pirates of Penzance. The English Brass band 17 piece in all played to us all afternoon with a selection of tunes. Not forgetting a happy performance from St Marks Church and the last band to play was the Jazz Band.

Risenga African Drum demonstration entranced the audience as soon as he started up and very quickly was pulling people from the crowd to take part. This act is always popular with children and adults alike. Another act we have had before and would like to have next year. In all there was lots for everyone to enjoy through out the afternoon. We estimated that 400 people enjoyed this free afternoon in the sun in a lovely setting, that gave the feeling of a garden party and with the good weather everything went off well.

The Parish Council would like to thank all of the willing volunteers, the local associations and stall holders who turned up to create a lot of interest and diversity. Lets not forget Leisure Connection and Jo Askham who puts all of these events together across St Albans on the day. We hope CHPC will have Larks in Parks next year at the same place and weather will be as good as it is this year and we all have a great time.

Kim Parker-Mead July 2008

You read the newspapers and saw that Colney Heath Parish had overturned the Secretary of State’s decision to allow the caravans permission to stay. You thought this was the end and we could see the caravans moving from the site to a new resting place. Well so did I but the law doesn’t allow for the easy solution. You have to go back to the High Court to get the Secretary of  State’s decision ratified by a High Court Judge and then enforce the eviction. I now have a date for the High Court and the advice from my legal team on the actions we will be taking to end this saga. You will forgive me for not informing you of our plans in this edition of the Chronicle but suffice it to say we will be taking a firm stance and an end is in sight one way or the other.

I represented the PC at the funeral of David Wilson in September. Those of you that knew David will remember him as I do a gentleman. The service was in the Abbey, David was a Chorister there for many years and this was a very nice way of them saying thank you. I don’t know how many of you have been to the Abbey for a service of any kind; I have been to a few but this was special. To hear the choir sing the requiem and look out through the stain glass windows was very moving and a very special way to say goodbye to a gentleman of Colney Heath.

Well it doesn’t seem like a year has gone by but I’m afraid it has and now it is down to the winter jobs in the Parish. Although you would think we would be slowing down we will be very busy and there is a lot to plan for in 2009. In November we set the budget for next year. We give out grants to various bodies in the Parish and outline our expenditure for 2009/10. We will be carrying on with the upgrades to the play areas; tree felling and pruning will be done over the coming months.

In addition to the perennial problem of litter thrown into our countryside by passing cars and left at roadside pull-ins or field entrances, there has been a steady increase in the amount of commercial and industrial fly tipping throughout the Parish in recent years. Sacks of domestic refuse, electrical appliances, demolition materials, hedge trimmings and other garden waste. These materials are all to frequently dumped in the Parish rather than taken to the local waste amenity sites. The only way this can be combated is by extreme vigilance by everybody that lives in the Parish and fly tipping will increase in this economic downturn. Should you see anyone fly tipping take the vehicle registration number, (DO NOT APPROACH THEM) report it to the police or telephone the Parish Office 01727 825314. We do regular litter picks in the Parish but we cannot put large loads in our black sacs, so please help us combat fly tipping - it makes your Parish look ugly.

The tree we planted in Hill End Lane is looking healthy and continues to flourish. The Spar shop and the Community Centre are really doing good business and have proved to be a benefit to the local community. The doctors’ surgery, which has now overcome the building problems it had, and the local pharmacy have both benefitted the community. We had our first Parish meeting at the Trestle Theatre, which was a success.  I’m determined this year and in future years to have more meetings throughout the Parish to be more inclusive. We will be looking at new play areas for Highfield. Now the developers have moved on, the existing play areas need maintenance and some need upgrading.

We have had in the recent months incidents of traffic speeding through the village and we are budgeting for some traffic calming measures. But the one area I want to highlight is the school crossing. We have had too many near misses on this crossing. Children are being put in danger by vehicles that just do not slow down or are not aware of the school. We put extra signage in place last year and we campaigned for speed humps. We have now heard from the safer routes to school department at the County Council that they have listened to us and will be spending £10,000 on improving the footpaths near the school. They will also be painting the railings adjacent to the zebra crossing a luminous yellow to highlight the crossing for motorists. We will monitor the success or otherwise of these improvements and see if they make a substantial difference to the children’s safety.

All the gardens have now been planted with winter bedding and the gardens are looking really nice, good to receive your comments. We are working with the football club, school and the County Council to see if we could place an all purpose/weather floodlit play area in the recreational area. This could be used as a tennis court, netball court, basketball court, football pitch, training area. We need to find funding and we will be approaching everybody that gives grants for play areas. This new venture is for everybody to benefit from. We want this floodlit pitch to be used by everybody in the Parish not just a few. The school can benefit with healthy exercise in all weathers for the children, the local children will also benefit, adults can have 5 a side matches on it, local clubs can benefit hockey, football and many other sports. Summer coaching or winter coaching can take place on the all weather pitch. This is a long-term project and one that will need careful planning and a lot of funding, but we feel it will benefit the Parish. Please let us know via the parish office how you feel this would benefit the Parish or if you think it is a foolish idea.  

The new play equipment at Sleapsyde has been installed and the reaction from the local residents has been very positive. We are continuing our campaign for road adoption in all the areas of the Parish not yet adopted. Our pressure to retain the post offices did not work in Smallford but with the recent u-turn by the government on benefit cards, it looks like our one remaining post office is safe. We are continuing to work with the residents of Tyttenhanger over the issue of Barley Mow Lane and the temporary or permanent closure of the lane. The Oaklands’ College development will now not happen until the end of 2009, if allowed by the Inspector. If it isn’t allowed I think it will be a loss to the area.

Finally two points. Firstly, have you seen St Mark’s? The building work is really starting to show what the church is going to look like in the future. I’m sure that the improvements to St Mark’s will enhance the church and enable it to accommodate the needs of the 21st Century. Secondly, can I wish all of you a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Chris Brazier
Parish & District Councillor