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.

£281,000 facelift for Aquadrome
Three Rivers District Council, working with the Countryside Management Service, has secured a grant of £118,000 to fund improvements at the popular Rickmansworth Aquadrome. The grant has been awarded by Natural England through DEFRA’s Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund (ALSF) and is in addition to the £75,000 secured from the same fund last year. This fund is a legacy from the days when gravel was extracted from the lakes that now form the Aquadrome.
This money, together with extra funding from the District Council, will form the £281,000 needed to upgrade the Aquadrome’s main car park and improve 700 metres of footpath to ensure they are accessible for all visitors. Further on-site information and way marking will also be provided.
Further information on the programme of improvements can be found on the Improvements at the Aquadrome page.

Crime figures lowest in Herts
Three Rivers remains the safest district in Hertfordshire according to the overall crime rate for the first six months of the financial year. Other encouraging figures include those for domestic burglary, violent crime and criminal damage - all are the lowest in Hertfordshire.
Latest figures (April - September 2008), shown as the number of crimes per 1,000 residents:
• All crime = 25.7
• Burglary (residential) = 1.72
• Robbery = 0.14
• Vehicle crime = 4.39
• Violent crime = 3.67
• Serious acquisitive crime (eg. burglary in a dwelling, aggravated burglary and robbery of business or personal property) = 6.26
• Domestic violence = 1.24
• Criminal damage = 5.54
All the above figures are the lowest in Hertfordshire, except robbery and vehicle crime, which are the second lowest.

Planning

Local decisions from the Development Control Committee, which met last week.

Willow Hill, The Clump, Rickmansworth WD3 4BQ
08/1882/FUL
Demolition of existing house and erection of four 2-storey detached houses with rooms in roof. Planning permission GRANTED as per agenda with additional conditions requiring retention and reuse of excavated topsoil on site and parking on site for contractors

62 The Drive, Rickmansworth WD3 4EB
08/1885/FUL
Demolition of existing house and erection of two 2-storey detached houses with basement levels and further accommodation in roof space. Planning permission REFUSED due to overdevelopment out of character with area.

Rear of 163 High Street, Rickmansworth WD3 1AY
08/1958/FUL
Demolition of existing storage building attached to rear of 163 High Street and erection of two-storey building comprising 5 one-bedroom flats with integral garage and roof lights. Deferred for a Site Visit by the Committee

Hawkford Hall, 231 Uxbridge Road, Rickmansworth WD3 8DP,
08/2016/FUL
Use of car parking area at rear for the parking of vans, for Comet Pump and Engineering Ltd. Deferred for officers to seek clarification of intention of applicant re overnight use of parking and to ensure actual bays proposed be marked accordingly on plans.

Happy Christmas and New Year to all my readers.
Please note your editor is taking a break until the New Year, so the next issue of this newsletter will be in January.

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.

M25 widening work begins
The Highways Agency is starting preparation work on the widening of the M25 between Js 16 and 23. This stage involves the felling of trees and shrub clearance within the highway boundary. They are promising to replant when the widening works are complete. The clearance work will start on the clockwise side between Js 16-17, and then after Christmas they will move to both sides from J16 to north of J18. Construction work proper is due to start in the Spring. The overall project will take until 2012. Keep up-to-date at the Highways Agency website.

Development Control Committee meeting, Thursday 11th Dec at 7.30pm, Three Rivers House. members of the public are welcome to attend.

Local items of interest include:

Willow Hill, The Clump, Rickmansworth WD3 4BQ
08/1882/FUL
Demolition of existing house and erection of four 2-storey detached houses with rooms in roof. This was deferred at last month’s meeting for a committee site visit.

62 The Drive, Rickmansworth WD3 4EB
08/1885/FUL
Demolition of existing house and erection of two 2-storey detached houses with basement levels and further accommodation in roof space. This was deferred at last month’s meeting for a committee site visit.

Rear of 163 High Street, Rickmansworth WD3 1AY
08/1958/FUL
Demolition of existing storage building attached to rear of 163 High Street and erection of two-storey building comprising 5 one-bedroom flats with integral garage and roof lights.

Hawkford Hall, 231 Uxbridge Road, Rickmansworth WD3 8DP,
08/2016/FUL
Use of car parking area at rear for the parking of vans, for Comet Pump and Engineering Ltd

New Planning Applications in the local area

Greenways, The Clump, Rickmansworth WD3 4BB
08/2111/FUL
Demolition of existing dwelling and erection of six bedroom detached dwelling

12 Moneyhill Parade, Uxbridge Road, Rickmansworth WD3 7BE
08/2121/FUL
Change of use of ground floor from Class A1 (retail) to Class A2 (Financial and Professional Services)

Land at 18 to 26 Ebury Road, Rickmansworth WD3 1BN and land to the rear of 153 High Street, Rickmansworth WD3 1AR
08/1876/FUL
Erection of a detached two storey building with garage on ground floor and flat on first floor.

100 Valley Road, Rickmansworth WD3 4BH
08/2174/FUL
Demolition of existing dwelling and erection of two storey detached dwelling with further accommodation in roof space.