Bourne End Herts News

Despite foul weather on Monday and slightly less foul weather on Wednesday, the carol singers were out in the village.  Between the two nights they collected a total of £367.24 .  This will be split between two charities. DENS Dacorum Emergency Night Shelter and Parkinsons UK If you were not able to make a contribution on the night, it is still possible to do so by contacting Mike Pritchard (contact details on this blog) or any one of the village reps. We now have an apology to make. The weather started out less foul on the Wednesday night, but when the heavy rain turned to driving hail as we approached the end of Bourne End Lane we decided enough is enough. Our apologies if we missed you out.

Tickets for the evening of Jazz are available from your local rep, or for that matter any BEVA rep ..... ... and don't forget Remembrance Sunday on 12th November.  Just turn up at the War Memorial at 10.45.  Coffee available at The Anchor after the event.

..... and an early reminder of the Jazz Night on Friday 17th  November.  Make sure you get it in your diary. The Bourne End Village Association AGM was held last Friday along with the Village Hall AGM.  the Chairman's report is below. CHAIRMAN’S AGM REPORT -  OCTOBER 2017   After four years as Chairman of the Association I have decided it is time to retire and my wife, Jean, who has been secretary for the last five years has also decided to retire.   I would like to thank her for all the hours of work she has put in on behalf of BEVA and myself.   I feel it is time for a new impetus and change of direction.   I have enjoyed being Chairman of my favourite village – after all, I have lived here for fifty-five years and been associated with it for sixty-six.   I would also like to thank the BEVA Committees over the past four years for all their hard work and support, and especially Chris Hunt for standing in as Chairman when...

Both these AGMs will take place in the village hall starting at 8.00 pm.  They will be followed by wine and cheese. Tickets for the forthcoming Halloween Party on Saturday 28th October will be available.  Adults £10.00 children £5.00

This weekend you should be receiving the latest edition of the Bourne Ender.  If you just can't wait, here it is!

The following has been sent to all Dacorum Borough Councillors. We have explained in the covering email that we share the concerns of many others about the impact of the proposed increase in number, but that this specific issue impinges more on residents of Bourne End than other areas. Bourne End Village Association LA3 with specific reference to the traveller site After a long drawn out dialogue with officers of Dacorum’s planning team it is clear that the aim of the developers, to produce a traveller site isolated from the site of LA3, has their support.  We oppose this isolation although we are not opposed to the positioning of the traveller site.  The isolation flies in the face of national government’s agenda, national policy, local policy, the rationale on which the land was removed from the green belt, and the vision for the development as presented to the public. Theresa May’s first statement as Prime Minister focused on social justice [i] . The sentim...

Just in case you've forgotten, lost your old Bourne Ender or you've not yet received the flyer, here are the details....

Bourne Ender . We will soon be producing the late summer edition.  We want to make it a truly community venture, so if you have anything you would like to contribute, please let me know during this coming week.  Contributions are best received by email to me, John Mawer  j.mawer@live.co.uk. The Village Show is coming up on Sunday 4th September.  That's pretty soon, but it still leaves time to get your garden in order and cut back the weeds so your vegetables and flowers will be at their best.   Planning. Many of you wrote in to object to the proposal to turn part of Bourne End Farm into a car storage depot. This was so obviously inappropriate but it needed a good representation from the village to say so.  Your letters were clearly noted and the planning application was turned down.

Yes ... a barrier! Finally, a barrier has appeared at the end of  Bourne End Lane; one that should stop cars and deter motorbikes. Chris Mabley arranged a meeting with a member of Herts Highways.  The meeting took place on Monday and hey presto, the barrier was in place on Wednesday.  We were helped by two motorbike riders who drove through without even slowing down.  

You may already have been informed about this meeting together with the latest plans.  We urge you to attend.  There are a number of issues we need to raise. We remind you of them in no particular order of importance. The number of homes: The consultation took place on the basis of up to 900.  The number now is up to 1100.  This has implications for traffic, the density of housing in a green belt setting, the green areas within and the ‘soft edge’ to the green belt initially proposed. The access to the Traveller site:  As you will know, the developers are proposing the location of the traveller site in the south west corner (the Winkwell end) with access into Chaulden Lane.  The proposed first phase of housing is for 350 houses in the diametrically opposite corner.  The result is that it is as isolated as possible, and linked to Winkwell and Pouchen End rather than LA3.  This is contrary to the latest government policy on ‘Planning policy for...

Those living in Bourne End Lane on the farm side will already be aware of the 20 or so cars parked on the land.  Those living on London Road will be aware of the transporter moving the cars. The activity has been taking place since about February and there is now a retrospective planning application. This has been on the website for some time, but as of this post, neighbours have not been informed and it has not been allocated to a parish or ward so it did not turn up in our searches.  Putting aside the issues of consultation, the application is for an activity entirely inappropriate to the green belt, entirely inappropriate to this specific site, and contrary to specific planning conditions attached to the installation of the manege. You will find the details on the planning website by searching Bourne End Farm or inputting the number 4/01205/17/FUL Below is copy our objection letter. We would encourage you to let your views be known. Chairman Bourne End Villag...

It is with regret that the BEVA committee have had to cancel this event due to poor ticket sales which would not have covered the costs of the event. It is the aim of our association to promote community togetherness and social events have always been a good means of getting people together for something a bit more than a nod of recognition as people drive past. Please try to get more involved in the village community, especially now that planning applications are threatening to engulf our green spaces with housing or other developments and our roads with traffic.

The Bourne Ender is now on line below and you will soon be receiving your copy. It contains an article expressing our concerns about the proposed development at LA3.  In the article we refer to a number of documents which are available on line.  These are referenced below. Do make sure you read the article. If you have any questions contact a member of BEVA Planning Group, (Chris Mabley, John Mawer, Mike Pritchard, Javaid Punwar.) In each case, click on the title to open the document in a new window.  TheGovernment’s  Planning Policy forTraveller Sites 2015 The document is a mere 9 pages and the relevant aspects stand out quite clearly. CoreStrategy 2006-2013   Policy CS22 which relates to new traveller sites is on page 98. Note in particular (b). Local Allocation LA3 Draft Master Plan   We would recommend delving into this, but first note that it is draft.  It is referred to at times as ‘The Master Plan’. Of particular note: The Visio...

BEVA Planning Group response to proposals for the housing development at Bourne End Lane. 4/00597/17/RES In general we feel the area is well designed.  Our chief concerns centre on: Parking.   The allocation of spaces is beyond present day standards, but in the light of the location, we feel the demand may be greater and may overspill into the surrounding area. Reference is made to a communal area, but this is not apparent from the plans. We had expectation of a higher bund separating the two redeveloped areas. This issue could be ameliorated by planting more mature trees. Some of the house styles are taller than anticipated although they are arranged in such a way that this should not interrupt views. No detail is given regarding planting, types of tree etc. We would encourage you to write into the council if you share these or other concerns. Make sure your comments are in by the 18th of April and you quote the reference above.  The following ...

Residents of Bourne End Lane have received notification of the plans to build houses on the industrial estate. I am not sure whether the whole village has been informed. The plans are on Dacorum planning website. The reference number is 4/00597/17/RES. I would urge all members of the village to have a look, and where appropriate, to comment. In a small community like ours, something that affects one side of the village affects us all. http://site.dacorum.gov.uk/planonline/acolnetcgi.gov

If not you, then who? When land is in public or multiple ownership, it is never clear who should tidy up the litter, especially in these windy months when sheets of building plastic fly away and get caught in hedges or litter bins overflow. Bourne End aspires to keep itself tidy by virtue of volunteers giving up a couple of hours to litter pick.  Equipment is provided to keep you safe and the more people who help, the less there is to do. The day before Mothering Sunday may be busy for some but if any villagers are free on Saturday March 25th, please meet in The Anchor Car Park at 10am.

As a gesture of support for the village publicist, a backup author has joined the team to lighten his load. Chris Mabley will attempt to keep the articles coming if John is planning to gallivant around the globe.

Your rep will soon be coming round with tickets for the quiz.  Make sure you buy your tickets early, spaces are limited...

We hope that by now you have completed your comments, either by completing the online consultation document or writing in as an email or letter.  (If it’s a letter, it will have to be hand delivered to meet the deadline).  We have now prepared the BEVA submission and it is reproduced in the previous blog post to assist you. Just to remind you Dacorum is planning to bring forward the Gypsy and Traveller element of LA3 because the inspector was concerned about the proposals for a similar site in Tring. The potential site is on the corner of LA3 by Winkwell and Pouchen End with assumed access onto Chaulden Lane. This may also mean bringing forward housebuilding as well. What are we concerned about? We are concerned that the Traveller site will actually be located here and, with access into Chaulden Lane, their links will be through Winkwell and Pix Farm Lane as well as Chaulden Lane. This would be instead of being included in, and having access through, LA3. ...

If you have not yet made your submission, this should help you. You will need the consultation document open for it to make sense!! MM18 Agreed.  Particularly as Winkwell is a conservation area. MM20  ‘…… available for immediate development’  following  generation of a consultative outline / master plan for the entire area, which will define all aspects of the site other than specific housing .  The additional comment is essential because it will provide for all of the areas including the Traveller site, the facilities, the accesses, and all green space. It is also essential for the proper consideration and discussion of the detailed developer proposals in the context of the whole . MM21 Replace with the following text The Council will require that the development will initially be progressed as an outline application covering the site as a whole, followed by a series of reserved matters (or full applications) for each phase (or series of ph...

BEVA and WHAG The Planning Group from BEVA recently met with representatives from WHAG (West Hemel Action Group) who have opposed LA3 from the outset.  The meeting was very constructive as we seem to share the same concerns. We would suggest you take a look at their website. http://www.whag.webeden.co.uk/ Of particular relevance at the moment is the urgent need to respond to DBC’s consultation on the main modifications; urgent, because the deadline is 5 th February .  WHAG is giving detailed guidance.  Click on the box outlined in red on the WHAG website.   Glossy flyer and glossy website from the developers You may well have received a glossy flyer from the developers.  While this has no formal significance in the planning process, it does contain a warning of what the developers really want. The 900 has become ‘up to 1,100’ and the map shows the traveller site totally hived off as a separate entity in the Winkwell corner.  I have repr...

This note refers to Dacorum Borough Council’s consultation on the Main Modifications proposed to meet the requirement of the inspector.  Comments have to be submitted by 5 th February. (Yesterday, you may have received proposals from the developer we will look at the issues raised in this later, but remember, both are important.) The consultation portal is found here: http://consult.dacorum.gov.uk/portal/planning/mods/consult The sections that include reference to LA3 are MM18 to MM23. They can be reached either from the options at the top left on the page, or following the arrows at the bottom of the page.  Navigation is unclear, but if you persevere you will be able to submit comments on line! Our concern is in essence as follows.  The planning inspector proposed that the gypsy and traveller element of the development be brought forward, having rejected the proposal for a site at Tring. This is to meet the government requirement for gypsy and travel...