Afghan Migration and Refugee Resettlement at The Watermill

Modernisation of Little Hay Golf Course
Land Fill from Upper Bourne End Lane

• Turning the golf course into a landfill site over 18 months with subsequent change of views from the village, noise and dust.
  
• 840 HGV lorry movements in Upper Bourne End Lane over 5 ½ days per week which will destroy Upper Bourne End Lane and make it totally unsafe for use for 18 months
  
• Causing considerable danger on the A41 bypass

If you are going to put an objection in, it must be before July 5^th

We are seeking a meeting with the relevant parties to explain to the village what is going on.  In the meantime we ask you to send letters of objection to Hertfordshire County Council, as indicated on the Notification of Planning letter by 5^th July.

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So how did this story unfold?……………………….

You will have recently received a Notification of Planning Application from Hertfordshire County Council.  You received it because you will be affected by it in one way or another. 

What is it all about?

If you had read the article in the Gazette (May 29^th ‘Little Hay revamp set to make a real splash’) you may have felt excitement at the prospect of both improving the course and the ecological impact of the complex, all at no cost to the taxpayer.  When you received the Notification of Planning letter from Hertfordshire about the project, seeing the term clean soils you may not have thought beyond the day to day remodelling of a golf course. 

So why the second part of the title?

You might however have noted that in the second letter, the term ‘clean soils’ has been dropped.  Looking into the application itself you will find that ‘inert material’ is defined as to including construction waste.  But do read further.  295,000 cubic metres doesn’t mean much to most people, but it’s going to take 150 movements of HGV lorries every working day for eighteen months to bring this construction waste in.  That’s one every 5 minutes …. all going up the single track Upper Bourne End Lane!  This sounds more like ‘land fill’!

So which story is true?

Actually, both! The project gets rid of waste by dumping it on the hill behind us and covering it with a golf course.  It’s all for free because of the money received from the land fill.

So where does it leave us?

The Planning Group of BEVA has met to consider the proposals.  We are pretty shocked by the shoddy way Bourne End have been treated.  (For example the people of Box Lane were consulted on a proposal to use Upper Bourne End as access, and guess what, they liked the idea.  The people of Bourne End including Upper Bourne End Lane were left out of this consultation.)  But let’s not get confused.  The application will be taken on its merits not on how it was presented.

We believe there are two issues

The use of Upper Bourne End Lane as Access

We consider this to be totally unacceptable and surprised it is even seen as workable.

·       There is a perfectly adequate access already leading off Box Lane
·         Although there are only a few residents in Upper Bourne End Lane, life will be intolerable for them.
·         The lane is an important amenity for walkers, horse riders and cyclists. 
·         As there is no footpath there is a serious safety issue.  (The focus here is on Bourne End residents, but the airfield is used for paintballing and other activities.  Young people paintballing or from Bovingdon often use the lane to walk to McDonalds.)
·         The lane will be irreparably damaged.  It is hundreds of years old.
·         We have used the argument of inadequate access as an important consideration in stopping development of the land adjacent to the golf course.
·         We believe there is a safety issue for the A41, with lorries queuing on the slip road to get to Upper
Bourne End Lane.  On their return, slow moving lorries entering up the hill will be meeting the fast moving traffic coming down the hill from the Berkhamsted direction.

The remodelling of the golf course

This is more difficult to give guidance on.  It is hard to get to grips with what the area will look like after the remodelling. There are many positive aspects such as the planting of more native trees.  We are however unclear about the general impact on the lay of the land. It seems a pity that we were not included in the offer to attend an open evening for interested local residents, and so far we have had no success in getting someone to talk to us.

What are we asking you to do?

In essence, take a view on the situation and express it. 

We are clear that the use of Upper Bourne End Lane is unacceptable, and would urge you to write your objections.  (We are advised that individual letters carry considerably more impact than any petition.)

We do not feel in a position to advise on the project as a whole.  However, we would strongly urge you to look at the plans and voice your views. 

For further details on how to access the plans see the Notification of Planning Application.