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.

Council Tax
The Three Rivers portion of the Council Tax is frozen this year - in fact many residents will see a slight reduction. Unfortunately, you will still pay more overall than last year. This is because most of your Council Tax (about 80p in the £) goes to Herts County Council, and their share is increasing by 4.5%.

Development Control meeting
Three Rivers Development Control Committee met last Thursday, 21st February, and decided the following.

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

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

140 Berry Lane
http://snipr.com/trdc2479
Refused - Demolition of existing house and erection of 3 detached. Reason for refusal - over development of site, out of character with area.

Denham Way, next to Hertford House, Maple Cross
http://snipr.com/trdc2601
Approved - erection of a four storey office building with roof top plant room, detached reception building, multi-storey car park and associated access and landscaping.

New Plans received by Three Rivers
You can comment on these planning applications online - just follow the links.

81/81A Hornhill Road, Maple Cross
http://snurl.com/trdc0134
Demolition of existing buildings and erection of six dwellings with garages, parking, and access road.
A previous application for seven houses was refused by the Development Control Committee last June, and the subsequent appeal was dismissed last December.

15 Moneyhill Parade, Uxbridge Road
http://snurl.com/trdc0203
Demolition of existing public convenience building and erection of two storey side and single storey rear extension to provide new cafe and three self contained flats and extended restaurant. A similar application was refused permission last October, for inadequate access and parking arrangements, and nearness to sycamore tree.

Reminder - Local Area Forum
Tuesday 4th March, 7.30pm to 9.30pm approx.
St John’s RC School, Berry Lane.
Agenda - Community safety, update on WIlliam Penn Leisure Centre, Planning Enforcement, use of plastic bags. Everyone welcome to attend.

The Liberal Democrat administration has set a zero increase in the Three Rivers portion of the council tax for 2008/9.

There will be no cuts in services to pay for the freeze. Increased investment in services is planned. The successful free access to swimming for school children in the holidays will be extended to fitness facilities. There will be a trial of special fitness equipment for older residents.

Environmental protection and sustainability remain priorities. There is more funding for the popular small traffic calming schemes and for much needed renovation of council owned garages and paths. Following the transfer of the council’s housing, resources have been allocated to ensure Thrive Homes keeps the promises made to tenants. Refuse and recycling collection will be improved by a new system to reduce missed collections. An improvement in the Out of Hours service is planned.

Sound financial management and significant efficiency savings already achieved, together with more savings planned, means we can increase investment in services, while retaining prudent balances and holding down tax levels.

The Three Rivers Council tax is only part of the bill residents pay. The Conservative run County Council, which takes 80p in every £1, is increasing its charge by 4.5%.

The Three Rivers Conservatives proposed a 20% reduction, but this is a political gimmick. Residents have made it very clear that they do not want services reduced – quite the opposite. Wild fluctuations undermine sound financial management and lead to huge increases, slashed services, and uncertainty later to make up. No party with actual responsibility for running the Council could make such a reckless proposition.

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.

Happy Man - planning application expected
Three Rivers District Council has been pressing Punch Taverns to get on and do something about the Happy Man site - it is an eyesore in the neighbourhood.
They have now come back to TRDC and informed us that they are negotiating to sell the site for development for a retail general store on the ground floor with seven 2 bedroom flats above on two storeys.
It is likely that a planning application for this will be submitted in the next 2 or 3 months.
Residents will be pleased to know that Punch Taverns have just agreed to pay TRDC to remove graffiti from the hoardings round the building and do a regular weekly litter collection there.

Development Control Agenda
Three Rivers Development Control Committee meets on Thursday, 21st February. Local items on the agenda include:

Petit Roque, 5A New Road, Croxley Green
http://snipr.com/trdc2204
Demolition of all existing buildings and erection of new offices for business use. Since the January meeting, the number of units has been reduced from three to two, to address the Committee concerns about parking and turning on the site.

11 Chestnut Avenue, Chorleywood
http://snipr.com/trdc2264
Demolition of existing house and replacement with one much larger one. Since the January meeting, the drawings have been clarified.

140 Berry Lane
http://snipr.com/trdc2479
Demolition of existing house and erection of 3 detached.

Denham Way, next to Hertford House, Maple Cross
http://snipr.com/trdc2601
On the site where permission was recently given for a hotel, this application is 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
Tickets on sale on day of performance - Thursday 21st February, Matinee 2.00pm. Evening 7.30pm.
The Good Shepherd (Cert 15) 167 mins.
“A thoughtful, measured cold war drama, it shows a keen eye for detail and an actors love for performance. The film charts the history of the CIA through the life of spymaster Edward Wilson.”

Local Area Forum
Tuesday 4th March, 7.30pm to 9.30pm approx. St John’s RC School, Berry Lane.
Agenda - Community safety, update on WIlliam Penn Leisure Centre, Planning Enforcement, use of plastic bags. Everyone welcome to attend.

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.

Row over gypsy and traveller sites

At the East of England Regional Assembly (EERA) meeting in Norwich on 25th January, the Lib Dem representatives attempted to restore common sense to the controversial process for increasing the number of the gypsy and traveller pitches in the region.

The Lib Dem amendment would have allowed district councils in Hertfordshire and elsewhere to resist their new pitch allocations if they were able to prove through their local planning process that the provision could not be met. This would have been of particular use to district councils in the green belt (eg Three Rivers) or which are largely urbanised.

However, the Conservative representative of Hertfordshire County Council was the main speaker against the amendment, which was defeated as a result of Labour and Conservative votes.

Hertfordshire needs around 115 pitches, according to independent research accepted by EERA. As a result of this vote Hertfordshire will now have to find space for 176 pitches. Three Rivers’ allocation has been increased from 2 to 15 - a sevenfold increase.

Three Rivers will be seeking the support of other Hertfordshire districts to fight this allocation. There has to be something wrong with a process that allows caravan pitches to be provided in the green belt where houses would be not be allowed.

New Planning Applications

If you follow the links to the website, you will see that you can submit comments online.

Hamblings Butchers at 2 Moneyhill Parade, Uxbridge Road
08/0109/FUL http://snipr.com/trdc0109
Change of use from A1 (retail) to A5 (hot food takeaway) with new shop front, changes to internal layout and air conditioning unit, cold room compressor and extractor duct to rear. A previous application was on the Development Control Committee’s agenda last October, but the application was withdrawn by the applicants at the last minute and not discussed.

Keepers Cottage, 128 Valley Road
08/0167/FUL http://snipr.com/trdc0167
Demolition of existing dwelling and erection of two, two storey detached dwellings and two single storey double garages. An application here in 2006 was refused, and dismissed at a subsequent appeal. Another application last October was also refused - excessive size and bulk, and pressure on trees.

Recycling site open again

The Riverside Drive site is open for business again. To enter the site you need to approach from the roundabout, as before, and when you exit you are now directed to turn left along Riverside Drive. The site is not quite finished, but it is already a substantial improvement on the previous arrangements. The site incorporates what was the infamous Capital Skips - which is where this newsletter started, two years ago!