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Decisions at Development Control Committee, 20th March

Diversion of Public Footpath between 165/167 High Street and 18/20 Ebury Road
This is the footpath (to be called Farr’s Alley) which was re-opened last year. The committee agreed that this should go out to formal public consultation, with official notices in the local press. If there are no objections, the diversion will be confirmed. The application is by the developer of the scheme at 18/20 Ebury Road, for a diversion to bring it into line with the approved plans - these plans are still on the council’s website http://snipr.com/trdc2209

2 Moneyhill Parade - Hambling’s Butchers shop http://snipr.com/trdc0109
Change of use from A1 (retail) to A5 (hot food take-away) for a pizza operation. The planning officers recommended approval. The agenda for the meeting listed 4 objections and 7 in support. A further 17 letters were subsequently submitted, also in support. The committee approved the proposed change.

Digging for Heat in the Rose Gardens
Residents may wonder what is going behind the hoardings at the Rose Gardens opposite Three Rivers House. The answer is the installation of ground source heat pumps. These are a simple and practical way of extracting heat from the ground to heat the council offices in the winter and cool them down in summer. The system will make a practical long term difference in reducing C02 emissions, heating costs and, ultimately, Council Tax bills. The system costs about the same amount as a conventional replacement, which was needed anyway. It will pay for itself in six years and reduce carbon emissions from day one.
Water pipes are being buried three metres below ground. At this depth, the soil stays at a relatively constant 11 - 12 deg.C, compared to the much wider variations in the air of between minus 10 and plus 30 or more deg.C depending on the season. Because the ground is warmer than the air in winter and cooler than the air in summer, the single pumping system can help provide both heating and cooling at different times of the year.
There’s more about how these systems work on www.energysavingtrust.org.uk - follow the link for “Generate your own energy”.

Easter Alleluia
For early risers next Sunday, the traditional short ecumenical Easter service takes place at a new venue this year - the Berry Lane open space at the top of Field Way, not Ropes Island. It starts at 7.00am. There’s usually coffee and hot-cross buns afterwards.

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Scores on the Doors

Ever wondered how clean your local pub or café’s kitchen is? I have been pushing for 6 or 7 years for the Council’s environmental health reports to be made publicly accessible on the website - and at last it has been done. (There were legal obstacles, apparently.) According to the Food Standards Agency, up to 5.5 million people in the UK are affected by food poisoning each year.

Pubs, restaurants and cafés range from excellent standards of hygiene (five stars) to poor (no stars). The new Scores on the Doors initiative provides a snapshot of how clean premises were at their last inspection by environmental health officers. We hope people will find it helpful when choosing where to eat out.

The ratings for sheltered housing, school and business canteens, supermarkets and other food shops are also available on-line.

The scores will protect the public and put added pressure on unhygienic venues to clean up their act. The Council has already taken court action against two food outlets this year. One local pub was fined £6,500 by the Court, reduced to reflect the early guilty pleas. The Council also recovered £3,700 in costs.

Development Control Committee - Thursday 20th March, 7.30pm Three Rivers House. Members of public welcome to attend.

Items of particular interest locally:

Diversion of Public Footpath between 165/167 High Street and 18/20 Ebury Road

This is the footpath (to be called Farr’s Alley) which was re-opened last year. The developer of the scheme at 18/20 Ebury Road is applying for a diversion to bring it into line with the approved plans - these plans are still on the council’s website http://snipr.com/trdc2209

2 Moneyhill Parade - Hambling’s Butchers shop http://snipr.com/trdc0109

Change of use from A1 (retail) to A5 (hot food take-away) for a pizza operation. The planning officers recommend approval. The agenda for the meeting lists 4 objections and 7 in support.

Old seats put to good use

Watersmeet has been fitted out with comfortable new seats. All the seats have folding arms and seats which flip up when people stand up creating more leg room and easy access to walk through the rows. The seats all have good sight lines and the auditorium now has an increased capacity of 515.

The old seats have been put to good use and are now being used by congregations at St. Mary’s Church and The Baptist Church, Rickmansworth.

Watersmeet Film Society

Wednesday 26 March at 2:00pm and 7:30pm The Last King of Scotland (15) 121 mins. Based on the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin’s regime as seen through the eyes of his personal physician.

Anyone know “Brain” or Brane”?

Crimestoppers, in conjunction with Three Rivers District Council, are offering a £100 reward to anyone who rings in with the name or names of who is responsible for the graffiti tag ‘Brain/Brane’ leading to their arrest and conviction. This graffiti has appeared over recent weeks in Rickmansworth and Croxley Green.

If the offender is a friend of yours, help prevent them getting into more serious trouble as the Council will attempt to recover the costs of removing this criminal damage from the perpetrator. The cost of removing similar damage recently caused by one individual came to more than £250,000!

If anyone knows the person or persons responsible for this unlawful damage, they can ring 0800 555 111 to claim the reward.

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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.

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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!

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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.