Every four years elections are held for Parish Councillors; the next election will be on Thursday 4th May 2023. If you’re interested in standing for election you need to apply by Tuesday 4th April at the very latest – details of how to apply can be found here.
Why is it important? I’m supposed to say because it’s the level of government closest to you (despite the name, it’s nothing to do with the church), and its activities are funded out of your council tax. But important though those reasons are, they don’t really tell the full story. What follows is a summary of four years in the life of Nettleden with Potten End Parish Council; if you find it interesting, or there are local issues which are important to you and don’t appear below, then you should consider standing for election as a Councillor.
Managing the Community’s resources – when you walk across The Green, when you feed the geese on the pond, if you use the allotment, when your children play on the recreation ground, if you play cricket or football on the sports field, and if your loved ones are buried in the Pouchen End burial ground, then you’re using land owned by the Parish Council on your behalf. The grass gets cut, the 500+ trees and the pond are maintained, and the litter both on council land and along many of the roads through the parish gets collected, all by the Parish Council.
Celebrating the Community – over the last four years the Council installed the new play equipment, the all-weather football pitch (both at the recreation ground) and the new cherry tree avenue (at the burial ground). It also helped organise last year’s Jubilee Festival, the open-air cinema and Carols on the Green, and is part of the committee looking at options to celebrate the coronation in May. It’s all part of making us feel proud of our community.
Giving the Community voice – the Council undertook surveys to gauge the community’s interest and concerns regarding community events and highways and your response to those surveys has guided actions in both areas. The Council responded to Dacorum’s consultation on its draft Local Plan and to Hertfordshire County Council’s consultation on its Speed Management Strategy, raising issues which affect the local community. It’s also held meetings with Thames Water about sewerage in the village and Affinity Water about the burst pipes on The Common.
Every year, the Council considers around 100 planning applications from across the parish ranging from simple tree pruning, lots of extensions, new garages and home offices, to more complicated issues like the development at Valerie Way, the solar array on Little Heath Lane or the proposed developments at Frithsden Vineyard. Councillors meet local residents affected by developments, listen to their concerns, and where appropriate represent those concerns at Dacorum planning meetings.
The Council has lobbied extensively for the speed limit along The Common to be regularised at 40 mph, has joined the 20’s Plenty Campaign looking to change the default speed limit from 30mph to 20mph, and has had two Speed Indicator Devices installed in Potten End with a third to follow later this year.
All this for less than the price of a cup of coffee per house per month!
