Parish Council News – June 2024 – Nettleden with Potten End Parish Council

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.