Potten End Hill SANG (Suitable Alternative Natural Green Space)

The Parish Council would like to draw your attention to a significant change of use being proposed for the land between Nettleden Road and Potten End Hill from the outskirts of Potten End down the hill almost as far as the Leighton Buzzard Rd. The land is currently agricultural and it’s proposed to become what is called a Suitable Alternative Green Space, or SANG; effectively it will become a publicly accessible park with a car park.

If you want to see the full documentation and/or comment on this application you can do so at the Dacorum Planning Portal by 16 July (later than the originally advertised 3 July).

The idea behind SANGs is that they provide a public space which will divert people from travelling to Ashridge which has been suffering from overuse. Any new development in Dacorum must provide more publicly accessible green space. This SANG is funded by developers who want to build 1,100 houses to the west of Hemel at the bottom of Pouchen End Lane – although for some reason the link between this development and the SANG which was made quite explicitly by the developers in early conversations is missing from the planning application.

To help orientate you on the map below, Potten End is at the bottom left hand corner with Frithsden and Nettleden above it. Great Gaddesden is top centre, the Leighton Buzzard Road and the River Gade are running from centre top to bottom right with the Water End Bridge the kink about half way along the road. The SANG is the hashed area between Nettleden Road at the top and Potten End Hill at the bottom running almost from the river at the eastern end to the outskirts of Potten End in the west.

The following is a detailed plan of the site but you may find it easier to download the original from the Dacorum Planning Portal.

The Parish Council will discuss its position regarding the proposal at its meeting on 18 July but the recommendation is that it should object for the following reasons:

The Borough’s strategic objectives would be best met by reducing the size of the proposed housing development to create green space onsite removing the need for offsite development and travel. If for whatever reason this isn’t practical then insufficient arguments have been provided to demonstrate how the proposed SANG will divert people from Ashridge which is the core objective of a SANG.

One of the key aspects of the SANG is a car park with 50 places located at the bottom of Potten End Hill with an entrance just up the hill from Willows Lane. There is a concern that this will result in increased traffic at the busy junction of Potten End Hill and the Leighton Buzzard Road as well as adding further pressure to the already highly congested single-lane bridge at Water End.

Having the car park in this location will lead to people leaving the SANG to walk along the (flat) footpath along the Gade water meadows toward Great Gaddesden rather than taking the (steep) footpaths toward Potten End, and that this will adversely impact the fragile ecology of the water meadows, particularly if dogs are allowed to roam freely. The absence of almost any refence to the possible impact on a globally rare chalk stream only 100m from the site is one of the more striking aspects of the proposal.

The car park is also in the setting of the Water End conservation area and a number of listed buildings.
The SANG is heavily focused on allowing dogs to roam freely, and the valley side running up from Nettleden Road provides breeding grounds for several ground-breeding birds, in particular the rare Corn Bunting and Yellow Hammer, which will be adversely affected by dogs.

Finally there is the impact on the view down the Nettleden Road valley. At the moment this is a dramatic, unbroken vista with no hedges or fences on either side for the length of the valley. The proposal introduces two hedgerows and a fence along the southern side of the valley splitting it into four compartments both because these reflect the field structure in the 19th century and because hedgerows are a valuable habitat. Even if you think those arguments are compelling, it will represent a significant change to an iconic view.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC RIGHTS AND PUBLICATION OF UNAUDITED ANNUAL GOVERNANCE & ACCOUNTABILITY RETURN

Each year the Parish Council’s Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) needs to be reviewed by an external auditor appointed by Smaller Authorities’ Audit Appointments Ltd. The unaudited AGAR has been published with this notice. As it has yet to be reviewed by the appointed auditor, it is subject to change as a result of that review.

Any person interested has the right to inspect and make copies of the accounting records for the financial year to which the audit relates and all books, contracts, bills, vouchers, receipts and other documents relating to those records must be available for public inspection by any person interested. Details of how to make such a request are available to download from this website.

Parish Council News – June 2024

Highways

Highways have been undertaking work at the bottom of Roman Road in Frithsden. 

The white lines on Nettleden Road have been refreshed but unfortunately not the ‘slow’ sign as you approach the Frithsden Lane junction from Potten End which is being re-scheduled along with the lines at the Church Rd/The Common/The Green junction in Potten End.

A DriveSafe exercise on The Common near the junction with Hempstead Lane recorded 19% of cars approaching from Berkhamsted exceeding 35mph.

Road works: Hempstead Lane will have traffic light controls for the foreseeable future. Potten End Hill will be closed from 1 – 3 July, and Nettleden Road will have traffic light control from 4 – 8 July. Red Lion Lane will be closed from 15 – 19 July, and there will be intermittent traffic lights at the junction of Red Lion Lane at the Leighton Buzzard Rd over the next few months to allow equipment to be installed and removed for a major project to remove a weir and improve the banks of the River Gade. 

See one.network for details of roadworks.

Open spaces

A safety review of the play equipment has identified a number of relatively minor issues that need to be resolved. Concern was expressed at the poor quality of the two log benches near the play equipment which are showing their age and some rather worrying splinters and so the Council will be considering removing both them and the log benches on The Green and the Old Green. It’s proposed to replace the log benches near the play equipment with recycled plastic benches.

The Council  will consider a proposal not to allow more picnic benches on Spencer Holland – previous proposals to allow more benches have met with resistance from some quarters but it’s hoped that the proposal to install two more usable benches near the play equipment (see above) represents a reasonable compromise.

The Council will consider a proposal to extend the wooden fence along the edge of Spencer Holland with Plough Lane almost to the junction with Vicarage Rd.

The removal of a blockage in an overflow pipe at the pond running under Hempstead Lane together with repairs by Affinity Water to a leaking water main have cleared the puddle outside Martins Pond pub but revealed that there is a crack in the overflow pipe which will need to be repaired.

Planning

The Council supported an application from Pipers Forge, Nettleden for works to trees (24/01133/TCA) and will consider applications from:

51 Hempstead Lane, retention of first floor glass balustrade (24/01138/RET
17 Hempstead Lane, construction of 1 new dwelling with associated landscaping (24/01253/FUL)
Crossways, Little Heath Lane, proposed single-bay garage with open carport and replacement greenhouse (24/01278/FUL)
3 Roman Road, Nettleden, new opening within existing garage (24/01291/FHA)
Lindens, 17 Hempstead Lane, (ie the second new building on this site in addition to 24/01253/FUL above) construction of 1 new building (24/01254/FUL)
Land, Nettleden Rd, Change of use from agricultural land to Suitable Accessible Natural Green Space (SANG) together with a vehicular access, car park, paths, fencing and landscaping (24/01254/FUL)
Roseheath Wood, Bullbeggars Lane, driveway gate and pillars (24/01321/RET)

Parish Council accounts

The Parish Council has to approve its financial accounts for 2023/24. Members of the public have a right to view that return from 24 June to 2 August 2024.

Parish Council News – May 2024

The Parish Council meets on Thursday, 16th May at 7.30pm in the Church Room at Potten End. The agenda for the meeting can be downloaded from the Council’s website. If you’d like to get more information about items on the agenda it includes links to supporting documents, and if that doesn’t satisfy you, please come to the meeting and ask questions or contact me!

Consultations/information sessions

At the February Council meeting we heard from Paul Miller from the National Trust about the significant challenges facing the NT from increased footfall at the Ashridge Estate.

A reminder that the NT will be giving an update on their plans at a public engagement event behind the Visitor Centre on Monument Drive on May 25th and 26th between 11am and 4pm. Details are available on the NT website.

The Local Government Boundary Commission is consulting on ward boundaries in Dacorum. More information is available on their website. The closing date for comments is 15 July.

We’ve been approached about whether there might be any interest in a mobile vet service visiting Potten End – there are no details of timings or venue yet but please let us know if this might be of interest.

Highways

Both the tragic accident at the drainage works outside 76 Hempstead Lane and the accident at the junction of Church Rd and Water End Rd are scheduled for updates.

The scheduled closure of Potten End Hill from 8 – 10 May has been cancelled because of the delay to the Hempstead Lane works but the closure on 10 June remains. Roman Road will be closed from 3-7 June for drainage works. See one.network for details of roadworks.

Open spaces

The Plough has asked for permission to install more picnic benches on Spencer Holland. This was scheduled for discussion in April but was delayed to allow time to investigate possible implications.

Planning

The Council will consider applications from:

Brynnon Cottage, The Back for a single storey extension (24/01020/LDP

Cleft Oak Cottage, Hollybush Close for a double storey extensions to front, single storey extension to side and part single- part double-storey extension to rear, increased main roof and chimney heights, fenestration changes and new pitched roof to garage, all following demolition of existing conservatory (24/01041/FHA)

38 Rambling Way (aka Valerie Way) for removal of Condition 2 (Approved Plans) attached to planning permission 21/00138/FUL (Construction of 5 dwellinghouses including associated hard and soft landscaping) (24/01053/ROC)

CIL project prioritisation

The Parish Council received £72,024.35 Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) from the development at Valerie Way which has to be spent on infrastructure in the parish. Over 35 ideas of what to spend the money on have been received covering projects as widely different in scale as improvements to the Brownie’s cupboard in the Church Room to the replacement of the Scout Hut.  At the May Council Meeting it is proposed that the Council proceeds with the following projects without consultation: 

to improve accessibility to open spaces

to improve the Brownies cupboard in the Church Room

to repair the entrance pathway to the Old Green

a roadside data recorder

to protect the verges around The Green

The Council will consult with the community to prioritise a further nine projects.

Dates for your diaries

The next two Council meetings will take place on 20th June and 18th July

Parish Council News – April 2024

The Parish Council meets on Thursday, 18th April at 7.30pm in the Church Rooms at Potten End. The agenda for the meeting can be downloaded from the Council’s website. If you’d like to get more information about items on the agenda it includes links to supporting documents, and if that doesn’t satisfy you, please come to the meeting and ask questions or contact me!

Ashridge House

The meeting will start with a presentation by Mr David Evans, Managing Director, Ashridge House who will be talking about their plans for future events. 

National Trust

At the February Council meeting we heard from Paul Miller from the National Trust about the significant challenges facing the NT from increased footfall at the Ashridge Estate. The NT will be giving an update on their plans at a public engagement event behind the Visitor Centre on Monument Drive on May 25th and 26th between 11am and 4pm. Details are available on the NT website.

Highways

Please note that the DENS Hillbuster cycle ride takes place on 28th April with routes through the parish. There are no road closures but there will be more bikes around than normal! More details are available on the council briefing note.

The work to correct the flooding along Hempstead Lane has started with the road closure scheduled to last another 10 days. Potten End Hill is scheduled to be closed from 8 – 10 May and 10 June; see one.network for details.

At the March meeting the Council agreed to pay for the installation of a gateway to emphasise the change in speed limit on The Common when approaching from Berkhamsted as part of the project from Herts County Council to standardise the speed on The Common to 40mph. As the land in question is owned by the Golf Club their permission has been requested.

Little Jim’s bus service (532/502) has been deregistered. Residents wanting to use a bus should consider HertsLynx, an on-demand bus service that doesn’t run on a scheduled route but does need to be booked in advance.

Open spaces

The Plough has asked for permission to install more picnic benches on Spencer Holland.

The Council would appreciate residents views on how to tackle an issue where cricket balls are landing in the gardens of Vicarage Rd and Vicarage Gardens – there’s more details about the issues involved in the Council’s briefing note.

Congratulations to the Potten End Football Team who after making the final of the Aylesbury and District Football League’s Sheffield Jackman Cup last year went one better this year to win it.

Planning At the last meeting the council supported an application for a new pitched roof over a garage and various other works at 18 Hempstead Lane (24/00459/FHA) and since that meeting has also supported an application for a single storey rear extension and various other works at Fryth View, Vicarage Rd (24/00656/FHA).

The Council will consider applications from 21 Hedgeside for a new porch and various other works (24/00655/RET) and various detailed changes to the proposed new property for which planning permission has already been given at 31 Hempstead Lane (24/00778/DRC).

The Council will also receive an update on a proposal to create a “SANG” – a publicly accessible green space which largely fills the area between Nettleden Rd and Potten End Hill, and from the Leighton Buzzard Rd to beyond Binghams Park Farm. The majority of this proposal is in Great Gaddesden Parish where there was a lively council meeting on Monday when the developers presented their proposals.

CIL project prioritisation

The Parish Council received £72,024.35 Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) from the development at Valerie Way which has to be spent on infrastructure in the parish. Over 35 ideas of what to spend the money on have been received covering projects as widely different in scale as improvements to the Brownie’s cupboard in the Church Room to the replacement of the Scout Hut. The Council intends to consult with the community about which projects should be prioritised but before it does so has identified projects which for a number of reasons such as lack of space or not meeting the requirements for CIL expenditure it doesn’t propose to take forward to consultation. At the moment this is a draft list and if you think that the categorisation is incorrect the Council would like to hear from you before the next Council meeting in May.

End of year accounts

The Council’s financial year ends in March and the draft year end results for 2023/24 will be considered.

Dates for your diaries The next two Council meetings will take place on 16th May and 20th June.