Richard Struck

Welcome to the latest edition of Rickmansworth This Week e-news.If you would like to receive this by email, please contact me at rwstruck@gmail.com to get your own regular delivery. Feedback on this newsletter is always welcomed.

Development Control Decisions

Decisions taken by Three Rivers Development Control Committee last Thursday, 17th January.

Petit Roque, 5A New Road, Croxley Green
http://snipr.com/trdc2204
Demolition of all existing buildings and erection of new offices for business use.
The Committee were concerned about parking and turning concerns on the site, hours of use, tree issues, fencing details and refuse vehicle collections. Deferred for negotiation with applicant.

Hill Farm, Stag Lane, Chorleywood
http://snipr.com/trdc2242
http://snipr.com/trdc2267
Demolition of farm buildings and conversion of others for erection of a two-storey 5 bedroom house and detached double garage, and a second house on one and two storeys.
Refused - loss of agricultural land and Green Belt.

19 Grovewood Close, Chorleywood
http://snipr.com/trdc2262
Outline permission sought to demolish existing house and replace with three houses.
Refused - layout, cramped backland development.

11 Chestnut Avenue, Chorleywood
http://snipr.com/trdc2264
Demolition of existing house and replacement with one much larger one.
Deferred for negotiations on height of building, which was unclear from the drawings.

Heatherley, Quickley Lane, Chorleywood
http://snipr.com/trdc2310
http://snipr.com/trdc2311
Outline permission sought to demolish existing house and replace with three houses.
Refused -  cramped nature of development being out of character with surrounding area

Kebab Take-away, 181 High Street, Rickmansworth
http://snipr.com/trdc2415
Seeking permission to stay open until midnight Monday to Thursday, 1.00am friday and Saturday, and 10.30pm Sunday.
Refused - noise & disturbance would be unacceptable to neighhbouring residents.

55 Grovewood Close, Chorleywood
http://snipr.com/trdc2529
Demolition of existing house and replacement with one larger one.
Permission granted.

Berry Lane telecomms mast
I have received many emails on the subject of T-Mobile’s plan to erect a mast outside 71/73 Berry Lane, near Arnett Hills school. Three Rivers Development Control Committee voted against the initial mast proposal in April 2005 and again when it reappeared in April 2007. That decision, democratically taken by local councillors responding to the concern of local residents, was overturned on appeal. The appeal was conducted by an Inspector appointed by the Planning Inspectorate in Bristol. The appeal process is not at all democratic, but it is what happens within the framework of the planning laws.

The only step open to Three Rivers now would be Judicial Review. However, this process does not look into whether the decision was right or acceptable or not. It only considers the legal process and whether it was carried out correctly. Even if the process were considered to have been incorrect there should be no expectation that the decision itself would be changed. It is more likely that a new hearing would be called or, as sometimes happens, the judge rules that it was not significant enough for the decision to be overturned, and the permission remains in place.

Three Rivers professional legal officers have advised that there are no grounds for judicial review. It would be unwise of Councillors to embark on such a process, which would be likely to cost at least £15-20,000, when there is no chance of success.

Many years ago, Three Rivers decided to ban masts from its land. The land in question in Berry Lane belongs to Herts County Council. If Herts CC adopted the same policy as Three Rivers, that would be the end of the matter - T-mobile would have to look elsewhere.

The Tip to reopen next week
The Tip in Riverside Drive (officially the Household Waste Recycling Centre) is managed by Hertfordshire County Council. HCC announced last week that the site is due to reopen on Monday 28th January. There was also a roadworks warning for Riverside Drive this week for work in connection with the site - traffic may be delayed while this work takes place.

Welcome to the latest edition of Rickmansworth This Week e-news.If you would like to receive this by email, please contact me at rwstruck@gmail.com to get your own regular delivery. Feedback on this newsletter is always welcomed.

Development Control Agenda
The monthly meeting of Three Rivers Development Control Committee is on Thursday 17th January. There are 20 items on the agenda - the following are of interest in Rickmansworth and the surrounding area. There are a large number of applications in the Chorleywood area this time.

Petit Roque, 5A New Road, Croxley Green
http://snipr.com/trdc2204
Demolition of all existing buildings and erection of new offices for business use.

Hill Farm, Stag Lane, Chorleywood
http://snipr.com/trdc2242
http://snipr.com/trdc2267
Demolition of farm buildings and conversion of others for erection of a two-storey 5 bedroom house and detached double garage, and a second house on one and two storeys.

19 Grovewood Close, Chorleywood
http://snipr.com/trdc2262
Outline permission sought to demolish existing house and replace with three houses.

11 Chestnut Avenue, Chorleywood
http://snipr.com/trdc2264
Demolition of existing house and replacement with one much larger one.

Heatherley, Quickley Lane, Chorleywood
http://snipr.com/trdc2311
Outline permission sought to demolish existing house and replace with three houses.

Kebab Take-away, 181 High Street, Rickmansworth
http://snipr.com/trdc2415
Seeking permission to stay open until midnight Monday to Thursday, 1.00am friday and Saturday, and 10.30pm Sunday.

55 Grovewood Close, Chorleywood
http://snipr.com/trdc2529
Demolition of existing house and replacement with one larger one.

Planning certificates warning
Leaflet drops by companies advertising their ability to obtain certificates of lawful development on land which has been refused planning permission are misleading, the planning department has warned. The leaflets also make no reference to the special restrictions which apply to large parts of Three Rivers and incorrectly state that ‘usual planning restrictions do not apply’.
Three Rivers wants to prevent a situation where enforcement action has to be taken against businesses and private residents because they have, in good faith, been conned by these leaflets.
The Council’s message is simple – if in doubt, always ring the Planning Department (01923) 776611.

Watersmeet Film Society
The Friends of Watersmeet Film Society opens the 2008 season on Thursday 17th January with a Bollywood film, “Om Shanti Om”. The film focuses on Om, who grows up up in the seventies. This is the time when he meets Shanti, the love of his life but shortly afterwards suffers an untimely demise. Om is immediately reincarnated and the story flash-forwards to the present day. Haunted by memories of his past life and his true love, Om attempts to solve the mystery of his death.
Matinee 2pm - doors open 1.15pm - tea and coffee served before and after the film.
Evening 7.45pm - an Indian Buffet available from 6.30pm at £3.50 per person.

Welcome to the latest edition of Rickmansworth This Week e-news.If you would like to receive this by email, please contact me at rwstruck@gmail.com to get your own regular delivery. Feedback on this newsletter is always welcomed.

Berry Lane Telecomms Mast - appeal allowed
When this application for an 8.5 metre high mast outside numbers 71 & 73 Berry Lane came to the Development Control Committee last April, it was refused. But the applicant (T-Mobile) went to appeal. Now, the Planning Inspector has ruled that the application should be allowed. Local residents, particularly those with children at nearby Arnett Hills School, are naturally very upset. Three Rivers’ only course of action would be to take the ruling to the High Court, but this can only be done if it is thought there was something wrong with the legal process followed by the Inspector. The Legal Section at Three Rivers say that the process appears to have been followed correctly. Local residents are organising a meeting to see if there is any action they can take.
The Inspector’s report is on the Council’s website - see http://snipr.com/trdc0535 and look at “Associated Documents” - it is number 36 (the last one) in the list.

Changes to Permitted Development Rights

2008 will see a new Planning Reform Act which amongst other things will revise permitted development rights. This will enable a lot of properties to be extended without the need for planning permission. Whilst such rights already exist there are restrictive criteria which limit the amount properties can be extended in this way. These criteria are due to be increased significantly, which will mean a lot of residential extensions which currently require formal planning permission will be able to be built as permitted development. There will be no notifications to neighbours and inevitably there will be more enforcement complaints. Once the Act and all the related guidance has been issued the Council will issue a press release.

Be warned that a leaflet has been delivered across the District by a company called ‘Permitted Development Services Limited’. They claim to specialise in obtaining Certificates of Lawfulness for large outbuildings even where local authorities have refused planning permission and state that ‘usual planning policy restrictions do not apply’. The Council believes the leaflet is both premature and incorrect. It is premature because the Act has not been issued yet. It is incorrect because the additional restrictions that apply in Conservation Areas where Three Rivers has obtained Article 4 Directions will continue to apply regardless of the new legislation. Similarly, where Three Rivers has applied restrictive conditions to past planning permissions, removing future permitted development rights, these will also continue to apply.

Three Rivers website facelift
The Council’s website www.threerivers.gov.uk has been reorganised and made more user friendly. The link for planning applications (Planning On-Line) is in the middle of the home page, so this is now much easier to get to. Remember that it is possible to make comments on all planning applications, and it is very easy to do via the website.

New Planning Application
Denham Way, next to Hertford House, Maple Cross
http://snipr.com/trdc2601
On the site where permission was recently given for a hotel, a new application has been submitted for erection of a four storey office building with roof top plant room, detached reception building, multi-storey car park and associated access and landscaping.

Watersmeet Film Society
The Friends of Watersmeet Film Society opens the 2008 season on Thursday 17th January with a Bollywood film, “Om Shanti Om”. The film focuses on Om, who grows up up in the seventies. This is the time when he meets Shanti, the love of his life but shortly afterwards suffers an untimely demise. Om is immediately reincarnated and the story flash-forwards to the present day. Haunted by memories of his past life and his true love, Om attempts to solve the mystery of his death.
Matinee 2pm - doors open 1.15pm - tea and coffee served before and after the film.
Evening 7.45pm - an Indian Buffet available from 6.30pm at £3.50 per person.

Welcome to the latest edition of Rickmansworth This Week e-news.If you would like to receive this by email, please contact me at rwstruck@gmail.com to get your own regular delivery. Feedback on this newsletter is always welcomed.

Planning decisions from the Development Control meeting on December 13th

18-20 Ebury Road http://snipr.com/trdc2016
Proposal for demolition of existing buildings and erection of 6 semi detached houses and 2 detached houses and parking and conversion of workshop to self-contained flat. Permission granted in principle, with retention of archway over footpath. Cllr Ann Shaw is researching old maps to suggest a name for the footpath.

Applegarth, Parrotts Close, Croxley Green http://snipr.com/trdc1897
Proposal for demolition of existing building and erection of 3 two storey detached houses and garages. Permission refused on the grounds of being contrary to policies which seek to protect character & residential amenity from inappropriate backland or infill development, overdevelopment, detrimental impact upon the street scene and failure to preserve or enhance the character and appearance of the Croxley Green Conservation Area.

Churleswood Service Station, Shire Lane, Chorleywood http://snipr.com/trdc2257
Proposal for demolition of existing commercial buildings and erection of five 2-bed and one 1-bed flats with associated access and parking. Permission granted subject to conditions, including that the 2nd floor roof areas to the SW of the building shall not be used as a terrace or amenity area at any time.

Planning Statistics
Three Rivers planning department continues to perform well in efficiency tables published by the Government. TRDC maintained its position in the top 3 out of 14 neighbouring councils compared to when the tables were last published (for the year ending 30th June 2007) and exceeded both national targets and the national average for each type of planning application. Achieved within the 8-week target were 88% of major decisions, 86% of minor decisions, and 95% of other householder decisions. The national averages were 71%, 77% and 88% respectively.

Frozen garden waste bins
Due to the heavy frosts recently, many of the garden waste bins have frozen material in them, which in turn is frozen to the sides of the bins. The crews are making every effort to empty as much of the contents of each bin as possible, by ensuring that the bins are shaken when on top of the bin lift. Too heavy shaking however will damage the bin and there are therefore some bins that still have material left in them. In this case the crews have marked down the property and will return the records to the council office.
Unfortunately it will not be possible to go back and empty the frozen bins as a missed collection because the high numbers will affect the next day’s work schedule. Although it may be an inconvenience to householders it is only a relatively small amount of waste left in the bins and in this weather there is unlikely to be an odour problem.
If you have any queries regarding this, please call Alison Page on 01923 727030.

Christmas Break
I wish all my readers a merry Christmas and happy new year. Thank you for your support and encouragement. The next issue of this newsletter will be some time after Christmas.

Welcome to the latest edition of Rickmansworth This Week e-news.If you would like to receive this by email, please contact me at rwstruck@gmail.com to get your own regular delivery. Feedback on this newsletter is always welcomed.

Reducing Packaging
Thank you for the feedback on last week’s item - most of you were very supportive of this idea. I should have mentioned that the Council meeting is open to the public (of course), and that you may register to speak in the debate, either “for” or “against” the proposition. All speakers (including councillors) will be limited to 3 minutes. The debate is on the agenda near the beginning of the meeting, which starts at 7.30pm tomorrow (Tues 11th Dec) in Three Rivers House.
Meanwhile, Three Rivers continues to score well in the recycling league tables compiled by Defra. Thanks to the effort of local residents, Three Rivers is 19th amongst collecting authorities for the percentage of waste that is recycled - and top amongst those councils that still carry out weekly collections.

William Penn Swimming Pool
Significant progress has been made in recent weeks. The pool is due to be “test filled” before Christmas, to test for any signs of leakage.

Aquadrome Grant
Three Rivers Council has been awarded a grant of £70,000 under the “Aggregates Levy”, which is administered by Defra. The money comes as the result of a bid to carry out improvements at the Aquadrome.
Staff Sickness
Three Rivers has one of the best performances in Herts for the level of staff sickness. An average of 7 days was lost per employee at TRDC in 2006/07, compared with 11 in neighbouring Watford and Dacorum.

Welcome to the latest edition of Rickmansworth This Week e-news.If you would like to receive this by email, please contact me at rwstruck@gmail.com to get your own regular delivery. Feedback on this newsletter is always welcomed.

Recycling Tip: Reopening Delayed
Refurbishment of the tip in Riverside Drive has been delayed and the new and improved site is now due to reopen at the end of January. The site is owned and managed by Hertfordshire County Council.
The work has been put back by approximately six weeks because more asbestos has been found on the site than originally anticipated, and the current high groundwater levels have further delayed works.
Once the work is complete, the site will have more parking space so more people can use the site at one time and waiting times should be significantly reduced.
For details on alternative site locations please visit the WasteAware website, www.wasteaware.org.uk or call the WasteAware help line on 08457 425000.
Residents should also check Three Rivers District Council’s collection calendar for details of refuse collection arrangements over the Christmas period.

Reducing Packaging
The Three Rivers Full Council meeting next Tuesday (Dec 11th) will consider a proposal by the Liberal Democrats to join the growing list of towns where there have been successful campaigns to reduce the amount of plastic bags used. There is an urgent need to reduce unnecessary packaging

Applegarth, Parrotts Close, Croxley Green
http://snipr.com/trdc1897
Demolition of existing building and erection of 3 two storey detached houses and garages.

Churleswood Service Station, Shire Lane, Chorleywood
http://snipr.com/trdc2257
Proposal for demolition of existing commercial buildings and erection of five 2-bed and one 1-bed flats with associated access and parking (amendment to 07/1141/FUL, which was for a four storey building of four 2-bed and one 3-bed flats and was approved in principle last July).