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.

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

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.

The Parish Council meets on Thursday, 21 March 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! Berkhamsted Golf Club The meeting will start with a presentation by Mr Howard Craft, Club Manager, Berkhamsted Golf Club who will be talking about conservation grazing on Berkhamsted Common.  National Trust At the February Council meeting Paul Miller from the National Trust gave a presentation on the significant challenges facing the NT from increased footfall at the Ashridge Estate including eight different and often overlapping types of designations and heritage listings such as AONB, SSSI, historic park, ancient woodland and common land. If you want more information on the Trust’s plans for the Estate include restrictions on parking in Monument Drive and more visitor centres to move visitors away from the Monument go to the National Trust website. On a related note there are two sessions on Wednesday 27thMarch from 5.30pm – 6.30pm, repeated at 7pm – 8pm, at the Ashridge Visitor Centre about proposed changes to horse riding on the Estate. It’s free but you need to book. There has been comment about the state of the footpath from Frithsden Copse to Frithsden after a new fence was erected. The fence is to allow cattle to graze the woodland and field as part of a NT restoration project to improve the diversity of the habitat. Unfortunately that doesn’t help the condition of the footpath. And finally our current representative on the NT Estates Committee, Geoff Brown, no longer feels able to continue in the role. Our thanks to Geoff for his time and to Chris Grimsdale for picking up the reigns. Highways Here’s a summary of what the Council will be discussing, together with updates on outstanding items where appropriate. The flooding along Hempstead Lane has been resolved in the short-term by installing a pump to take the water from the road to the fields behind the houses. Work will start on a permanent solution on 2nd April which will require the road to be shut for four weeks. The solution is only possible because of the flexibility and support of local residents. In addition to Hempstead Lane, Potten End Hill is scheduled to be closed from 8 – 10 May and 10 June; see one.network for details. It has been suggested that the speed limit in the parish outside those areas where there is a set limit should be reduced from the default National Speed Limit of 60mph to 40mph. This would only be considered by Herts Highways if there was a significant percentage of the community supporting it, it would require a lot of effort to get that support, and it is unlikely even then that it would achieve anything other than make a clear statement of the community’s concerns. The Council could support such an initiative but doesn’t have the bandwidth to undertake the legwork necessary to get that level of support and so unless there are people willing to pick this up it will not be pursued. In the meantime and after many years of effort we are expecting work to start on reducing the speed limit along The Common from 50mph to 40mph in the next few months. The current design includes a small chicane at the entrance to the Village and the Council will debate whether or not to pay for the installation of a gateway to emphasise the change in speed limit which will be from 40mph to 30mph. Concern has been expressed at the state of the path from Common Gardens to Vicarage Rd running behind Cedar. The Council is most grateful to Cllr Douris who has agreed to have the path repaired in 2024/25. Finally HertsLynx are offering a “children travel free” deal over Easter. Open spaces The Council will be considering a proposal to install a wildlife information board next to the pond, and is very grateful to Alan and Joyce Osborn who have agreed to fund it. We have agreed that Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh may use The Pond as part of a study assessing the health of the common frog across the UK. Planning At the last meeting the council objected to an application at Mollcroft, Hempstead Lane (24/00157/FUL) for a change of use for an existing detached residential annex building to a separate dwellinghouse. It has supported an application for the reinstatement of a gated access to Spring Lodge, Hollybush Close (24/00368/FHA) and will be considering an application for a new pitched roof over a garage and various other works at 18 Hempstead Lane (24/00459/FHA). The council has received notification of an appeal against the decision by Dacorum to refuse permission for works to trees at Browns Spring Wood (23/00314/TPO). The Parish Council objected to the original application. Email address changes Please note that with immediate effect all the Parish Council email addresses have changed. I can now be contacted at clerk@nettledenpottenend-pc.gov.uk whilst all councillors can be contacted at firstname.secondname@nettledenpottenend-pc.gov.uk (e.g. daniel.burfot@nettledenpottenend-pc.gov.uk). The old email addresses will work for a little while but will eventually be shut down. Dates for your diaries Mr David Evans, Managing Director, Ashridge House will attend the council meeting on 18th April to update us on their plans for events at Ashridge (deferred from January). The May Council meeting will take place on 16th May.