| Time: | 7.30pm | Place: | Committee Room 1, Council Offices, Gernon Road, Letchworth Garden City |
| PRESENT: | Councillor John Booth (Chairman), Councillor Julian Cunningham (Vice-Chairman), Councillor Clare Billing, Councillor Gary Grindal, Councillor T.W. Hone, Councillor David Kearns, Councillor Lorna Kercher, Councillor David Levett, Councillor Ian Mantle and Councillor Deepak Sangha. |
| IN ATTENDANCE: | Karl Edwards (East of England Ambulance Service), Stuart Wilson (East of England Ambulance Service), Liz Green (Head of Policy and Community Services), David Miley (Democratic Services Manager), Claire Morgan (Community Development Officer) and Hilary Dineen (Committee and Member Services Officer). |
| ALSO PRESENT: | At the start of the meeting 14 members of the public. |
| Item | Description/Resolution | Status | Action | |
| PART I | ||||
| 69 |
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Lynda Needham and Mike Rice. |
Noted | ||
| 70 |
MINUTES Minutes MINUTE 48 - APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Members noted that Councillor Lorna Kercher had given her apologies for the meeting held on 13 November 2013. MINUTE 49 - MINUTES 11 SEPTEMBER 2013 The Chairman advised that the Development and Conservation Manager had responded to all Members by email regarding the concerns about Section 106 and Unilateral Undertakings funding, and that, as the response was detailed and comprehensive, he had withdrawn the request for her to attend this meeting. MINUTE 52 - PUBLIC PARTICIPATION - PETITION - NORTON WAY NORTH HIGHWAY SAFETY Members asked whether Hertfordshire Highways had responded to the Committee's letter of support for this petition. The Committee and Member Services Officer advised that no response had yet been received. MINUTE 68 - WARD AND OUTSIDE ORGANISATIONS - MEMBERS' REPORTS Members asked when the requested report regarding events taking place in Letchworth Garden City to commemorate the 100th anniversary of World War I would be available, as their understanding from the November meeting was that it would be available at this evenings meeting, and whether this would be included on the NHDC website. They also requested details of any funding allocated by the Government to North Herts District Council for these events. The Head of Policy and Community Services advised that she was in the process of compiling a list of events taking place in the District and would present a report to the meeting of this Committee due to be held on 12 March 2014. RESOLVED: (1) That Minute 48 be amended to record that Councillor Lorna Kercher had given her apologies; (2) That the Head of Policy and Community Services be requested to include details of any funding allocated by the Government to North Herts District Council for commemoration of World War I events in her report to the meeting of this Committee due to be held on 12 March 2014; (3) That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Committee held on 13 November 2013 be approved as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chairman. |
Agreed | ||
| 71 |
NOTIFICATION OF OTHER BUSINESS Councillor Lorna Kercher requested a discussion regarding the collection of leaves from pavements and verges (Minute 89 refers) Councillor Gary Grindal requested a discussion regarding the Letchworth Parking Review (Minute 90 refers) The Chairman agreed to both requests and advised that they would be discussed after the last item on the published agenda. |
Noted | ||
| 72 |
CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS (1) The Chairman welcomed all those present at the meeting, particularly those due to give a presentation; (2) The Chairman reminded those giving presentations under Public Participation that there was a time limit of 5 minutes per presentation; (3) Members were reminded that any declarations of interest in respect of any business set out in the agenda, should be declared as either a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest or Declarable Interest and are required to notify the Chairman of the nature of any interest declared at the commencement of the relevant item on the agenda. Members declaring a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest must withdraw from the meeting for the duration of the item. Members declaring a Declarable Interest which requires they leave the room under Paragraph 7.4 of the Code of Conduct, can speak on the item, but must leave the room before the debate and vote. |
Noted | ||
| 73 |
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION - 7TH LETCHWORTH GARDEN CITY SCOUTS Carolyn Nunnington, Assistant Scout Group Leader, thanked the Chairman for the opportunity to address the Committee and gave a verbal presentation regarding the activities undertaken by the 7th Letchworth Garden City Scouts to celebrate their 75th anniversary, which was funded by this Committee. She informed Members that the Scouts and Beavers had undertaken a trip to London, which had included a visit to the Emirates Stadium and ferry and train rides. The main activity was split in to two parts with the Cubs and Beavers staying the night on the Golden Hind, dressing up in period costumes and learning about the ship and how sailors lived. The Scouts spent the night on HMS Belfast and were able to learn about the ship. Three of the Scouts who went on the trip told Members that they had thoroughly enjoyed the trip and had learnt a lot about St Paul's Cathedral, the Emirates Stadium and the ships they stayed on. Members asked that they be allowed to see some pictures of the trip. The Chairman thanked Mrs Nunnington and the Scouts for their presentation. RESOLVED: That the Community Development Officer be requested to obtain photos of the 7th Letchworth Garden City Scouts 75th Anniversary trip to London and circulate them to Members at a future meeting of the Committee. |
Agreed | ||
| 74 |
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION - NORTON ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY Chris Hobbs, Chairman of Norton Archaeological Society, thanked the Chairman for the opportunity to address the Committee and gave a PowerPoint presentation regarding Norton Henge. Mr Hobbs thanked the Committee and NHDC generally for the support received by Norton Archaeological Society over the last 5 years including the following: - NHDC's Museum Service, particularly Keith Fitzpatrick-Matthews (Archaeology Officer) who was the Director of Excavations; - Grant funding from Councillor Terry Hone, which enabled the reconstruction of a Neolithic pot; - Grant funding from Letchworth Committee which part funded the translation of manorial court records. The Group had excavated the site of a Neolithic henge to the east of Norton for four years. The 55metre diameter monument was particularly rare as, at more than 5,000 years old, it was 500 years older than Stonehenge. Even earlier Neolithic dwellings, of a type that had only been discovered on 10 sites throughout the UK, had also been found. The henge site sat within a wider area of rich archaeological interest with the discoveries attracting national academic interest which added significantly to the understanding of the earliest human settlement of the area following the last ice age. Further discoveries would be made from the analysis of 13,000 finds including the geographic origin of the human and animal remains. Having excavated one third of the monument, excavation had now ceased at the site in order to preserve the site for future generations and research. However the Group would continue to excavate other sites of interest. Norton also had exceptional manorial court records spanning 1244 to 1916. These had now been translated with the first 300 years of translations due to be published in late 2014. Mr Hobbs thanked the Letchworth Committee for their support which had enabled over 200 people to participate first-hand in making major discoveries in the heritage of the area through volunteering and open days. Members asked whether the archaeological finds were changing thoughts on the history of the area. Mr Hobbs advised that the processing of the 13,000 finds would take a further 2 years and this would provide more knowledge about the area. The Chairman thanked Mr Hobbs for his presentation. |
Noted | ||
| 75 |
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION - LETCHWORTH AMATEUR SWIMMING CLUB Mel Godfrey, Head Coach of Letchworth Amateur Swimming Club, thanked the Chairman for the opportunity to address the Committee and gave a verbal presentation as follows: - Letchworth Amateur Swimming Club was a community club, which was established in 1934 at the request of the then local Council; - Swimming was an important life skill; - Letchworth Amateur Swimming Club was open to all and was very family friendly; - One of the key roles of any community sports club was youth development; - All youth members passing through the club will be encouraged to achieve their maximum potential through swimming; - The Club had created an environment that encouraged and developed young volunteers by offering training, support and the opportunity to gain different experiences; - Youth volunteer roles at LASC included: poolside helpers, time keepers, teaching assistants, teachers and coaches; - All club staff were volunteers (enabling fees to be kept to a minimum and affordable for all); - Each year the Club ran 3 terms using 3 Letchworth venues (North Herts Leisure Centre, St Francis pool and the Letchworth Outdoor Pool; - On average 250 members sign up per term; - Teaching and coaching was available for all abilities; non-swimmers, improvers, competitive swimmers; - The scale and scope of swimming activities was only limited by the availability of pool time in the area and facilities at these pools; - The Club had gained the coveted ASA quality mark and Swim21 accreditation; - Grant funding awarded by Letchworth Committee in January 2010 enabled two young volunteer to be trained at ASA Level 1, six as ASA Helpers and two as time keepers; - The initial participants continued their development with the club through to completing the ASA Level 2 Teachers and still volunteer regularly with the club, with two participants now studying sport at university; - In November 2013 the club organised and delivered the new ASA aquatic helpers course to 10 youth member for little or no cost to the club. Accreditation fees for the successful students were funded by Herts ASA; - The grant application was to cover 50% of course fees for three Level 1 Teaching Aquatics and one Level 2 Teaching Aquatics; - Grants for 25% of these course fees had already been secured from Herts ASA and a further £150 through gaining our Swim21 accreditation. Members asked whether the Club interacted with local schools. Ms Godfrey informed Members that they regularly talk to local schools, the Letchworth Education Partnership and parents and this was particularly important as swimming in schools was under threat and the Club could help bridge any gaps. The Chairman thanked Ms Godfrey for her presentation. |
Noted | ||
| 76 |
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION - LETCHWORTH ARTS CENTRE Damien Kerlin thanked the Chairman for the opportunity to address the Committee and gave a verbal presentation regarding the Letchworth Arts Centre as follows: - Letchworth Arts Centre would be working with a West End Director and Chorographer to engage young people in a project using performance to commemorate World War 1; - It was hoped that up to 120 young people would take part in some or all of the project; - The project would enable young people to develop skills in historical research; the creative process; performance' set, light and costume design; marketing and stage management; - The project would run outside of school hours and include street performance and a final show; - The project was community based and would help young people gain a wider understanding of their local heritage; - Workshops would take place during Spring 2014 together with schools, youth clubs and community groups and would be based at Grange Community Centre, Jackmans Community Centre, local schools and the Arts Centre; - Any grant funding awarded would be used to move the project around local schools offering young people the opportunity to take part in educational and performance based workshops. Members asked whether the project would continue in future years; what the grant funding would be used for Mr Kerlin informed Members that the hope was that they could work on other projects in the future and that grant funding would enable the outreach part of the project to take place, which would benefit more young people. The Chairman thanked Mr Kerlin for his presentation. |
Noted | ||
| 77 |
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION - REMAP Bruce Carr thanked the Chairman for the opportunity to address the Committee and gave a verbal presentation regarding Remap as follows: - Remap was a National Charity which was set up as individual self sufficient panels covering specific areas; - The local panel covered North Hertfordshire and designed and manufactured practical equipment for the elderly and disabled where suitable commercial products were not available; - The work was undertaken in members' garages or workshops; - They currently had 8 members living in Letchworth who in the last 6 months had undertaken approximately 20 projects in Letchworth for both individuals and groups such as the MS Therapy Centre. - Working examples and photographs of projects previously completed were shown to the Committee; - Any grant funding would be used to purchase materials; - Other organisations which provided support included Stevenage Community Trust, Hertfordshire Community Foundation and Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation who fund the annual rental for a storage garage. Members asked whether they took out patents on any of their designs and how they got their volunteers. Mr Carr informed Members that they had not considered patents as their associated costs were high, they were only interested in helping people and that they did give presentations to groups such as carers. Members suggested that Mr Carr contact engineering companies, which may offer development help and groups such as the model railway society who may have members that could help. The Chairman thanked Mr Carr for his presentation. |
Noted | ||
| 78 |
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION - BOX CLEVA Bob Williams thanked the Chairman for the opportunity to address the Committee and gave a verbal presentation regarding Box Cleva Letchworth as follows: - Mr Williams was a Fire and Rescue Officer who was involved in both amateur and professional boxing; - Box Cleva Letchworth met weekly at Letchworth Academy and operated for the 40 school term weeks by CRB checked volunteers; - Box Cleva was moving into its second year; - As well as giving training in boxing and learning about respect and discipline discussions took place about smoking, drinking and healthy eating; - Box Cleva was a charitable organisation which had John Conti as its patron; - An award scheme saw 26 young people achieve bronze awards, 15 silver and 5 gold; - Since the project started there had been a 39 percent reduction in anti-social behaviour and the young people had started to re-engage with their schools. Members asked where the children came from. Mr Williams informed Members that children were referred to Box Cleva by the Police and community groups. Members asked Mr Williams to provide a breakdown of the numbers of boys, girls and foster children that attended Box Cleva. The Chairman thanked Mr Williams for his presentation. RESOLVED: That the Community Development Officer be requested to obtain a breakdown of the number of boys, girls and foster children that attended Box Cleva Letchworth and circulate them to all Members of the Letchworth Committee. |
Noted | ||
| 79 |
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION - LETCHWORTH FESTIVAL STEERING COMMITTEE Mel Wold (Chairman) and Ann Pegrum (Previous Chairman) thanked the Chairman for the opportunity to address the Committee and gave a verbal presentation regarding the Letchworth Festival Steering Committee as follows: - This was the 5th year that the Letchworth Festival Steering Committee had been in place; - The Letchworth Festival helped promote Letchworth life, the Town, its people and the diverse culture; - In June last year 100 events were held over a two week period; - All committee members were volunteers and funding was solely through sponsorship and grant awards; Mr Wold thanked the Committee for grant funding awarded to the Letchworth Festival Steering Committee in past years. Members asked several questions including what sort of support did Letchworth Festival Committee offer to other groups and how did they encourage groups of diverse cultures and backgrounds to take part in the Festival. Mrs Pegrum informed Members that they offered groups small grants, usually under £50, for items such as display materials and hall hire. Mr Wold informed Members that the Letchworth Festival Committee was continually working at getting more community groups from Asian communities involved and highlight the benefits to those groups of increased public awareness of what the group does, which can lead to the groups being able to access more funding. The Chairman thanked Mr Wold and Mrs Pegrum for their presentation. |
Noted | ||
| 80 |
PRESENTATION BY THE GENERAL MANAGER OF THE EAST OF ENGLAND AMBULANCE TRUST Karl Edwards (General Manager - East of England Ambulance Service, Hertfordshire) and Stuart Wilson (General Manager East of England Ambulance Service) thanked the Chairman for inviting them to give a presentation regarding the East of England Ambulance Service as follows: - The East of England Ambulance Service covered six counties; - 420 ambulance staff, including paramedics, medical technicians and medical care assistants were employed in Hertfordshire; - The control centre for Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire was located in Bedford; - In Hertfordshire there were 30 ambulances and 25 rapid response cars which dealt with 350 ‘999' calls per day; - Air Ambulance helicopters were available when needed; - All calls underwent triage through a computer aided programme; - The aim was to get an ambulance to the patient within 8 minutes of the start of the emergency call, Hertfordshire achieved this 75 percent of the time; - Hertfordshire was a high performing service which had been scrutinised by the County Council Overview and Scrutiny Committee in 2013; - The Service was undergoing major changes and had a new Chief Executive, who had long experience in ambulance services; - Hertfordshire worked closely with the 2 local clinical commissioning groups and Lister and Watford hospitals; - The major challenge was recruitment, Hertfordshire was currently short of 50 staff and this was mainly due to the difficulty in training as this was now by way of a 3 year academic university course which aimed to bring ambulance staff in line with other health professionals. Members asked several questions including whether the Ambulance Service paid for people to undertake the University training required, whether in house training was being promoted to senior managers. They queried how the "fine" system worked between hospitals and the ambulance service. Mr Edwards informed Members that the Ambulance did not pay for people to undertake university courses, but did offer a small number of bursaries, that it would be preferable to have both university and internal training routes and this was being sought. He advised that hospitals could be fined if an ambulance was delayed and didn't leave within set timescales, also the ambulance service could be fined if they took too long to leave the hospital, the income from these fines went to the Clinical Commissioning Groups for re-distribution. Mr Edwards invited Members to spend a day with the Ambulance Service. RESOLVED: That Mr Karl Edwards and Mr Stuart Wilson of the East of England Ambulance Service be thanked for their informative presentation. REASON FOR DECISION: To ensure that the Letchworth Committee is updated regarding provision of services by the East of England Ambulance Service. |
Agreed | ||
| 81 |
REVIEW OF POLLING DISTRICTS AND POLLING PLACES Report Appendix A - CAA Appendix A - CAA Map Appendix A - CAB Appendix A - CAB Map Appendix A - CAC Appendix A - CAC Map Appendix A - CBA Appendix A - CBA Map Appendix A - CBB Appendix A - CBB Map Appendix A - CCA Appendix A - CCA Map Appendix A - CCB Appendix A - CCB Map Appendix A - CCC Appendix A - CCC Map Appendix A - CCD Appendix A - CCD Map Appendix A - CCE Appendix A - CCE Map Appendix A - CCF Appendix A - CCF Map Appendix A - CDA Appendix A - CDA Map Appendix A - CDB Appendix A - CDB Map Appendix A - CEA Appendix A - CEA Map Appendix A - CEB Appendix A - CEB Map Appendix A - CEC Appendix A - CEC Map Appendix A - CED Appendix A - CED Map Appendix B The Democratic Services Manager presented the Report of the Chief Executive entitled Review of Polling Districts and Polling Places and advised that lists of streets and properties representing the existing Polling Districts and maps for orientation purposes were included in the report at Appendix A. It was noted that the Acting Returning Officer had invited comments on the location of the existing polling stations as part of a statutory review (listed at Appendix B). There was some discussion regarding the fact that county division boundaries did always match district ward boundaries. It was noted that a Periodic Boundary Review of Hertfordshire County was being undertaken which could take this into account. In respect of Polling Stations a Member of the Committee felt that St Thomas of Canterbury Church was not appropriate, in that it was not as safe as the school as it had a single lane entry and very small car park. Another Member felt that CEC and CED should be at St Georges Hall. RESOLVED: (1) That the Polling Districts and Polling Places, as set out in Appendix A, be re-established for a further four year period; (2) That the Democratic Services Manager be requested to take note of the comments, detailed in the pre-amble above, during the review of polling stations. REASON FOR DECISION: To fulfill the requirement to review Polling Districts and Polling Places and to give feedback to the Acting Returning Officer regarding the review of Polling Stations. |
Agreed | ||
| 82 |
CHAMPION NEWS AND FINANCE REPORT Report Appendix 1 - Budget Appendix 2 - Letchworth Amateur Swimming Club Appendix 3 - Letchworth Arts Centre Appendix 4 - REMAP Appendix 5 - Box Cleva Appendix 6 - Letchworth Festival Committee Appendix 7 - Area Committee Summary The Community Development Officer presented the report of the Head of Policy and Community Services entitled Champion News and Finance Report and drew attention to the following: YOUTH CONFERENCE The Community Development Officer advised that 50 young people had attended the Youth Conference which included three workshops, two of which were designed and run by the young people themselves and Councillor Needham took part in a question and answer session. FREQUENCY OF MEETINGS Councillor Kearns informed the Committee that he had investigated the end times of Letchworth Committee meetings over the last 3 years and that reducing the number of meetings would likely extend the length of each meeting. As it was recommended that meetings should not last more than 2 hours 30 minutes, he was proposing that the Letchworth Committee continued to meet 6 times a year. The Head of Policy and Community Services advised that the Policy and Procedures regarding Grant Funding was currently under review with a report due to be presented to all Area Committees in March 2014. COUNCILLOR SURGERIES The Community Development Officer reminded Members that the next Councillor Surgery would be held on Saturday 18 January 2014. HIGHWAY MATTERS Councillors requested an update on schemes agreed by this Committee two years ago. RESOLVED: (1) That the budgetary expenditure, balances and carry forwards from the Development and Visioning Budgets be noted; (2) That the actions taken by the Community Development Officer to promote greater community capacity and well-being for Letchworth Garden City be endorsed; (3) That the Letchworth Committee continue to meet 6 times each Civic Year; (4) That the Committee and Member Services Officer be requested to identify dates for the Letchworth Committee meetings during the Civic Year 2014/15; (5) That the Letchworth Committee receives an update regarding Highways Schemes funded by this Committee approximately two years ago. REASON FOR DECISION: To keep Members of the Committee apprised of the latest developments in community activities in Letchworth Garden City. |
Agreed | ||
| 83 |
GRANT APPLICATION - LETCHWORTH AMATEUR SWIMMING CLUB The Community Development Officer advised Members that grant funding was being sought to cover 50 percent of the cost of training four young volunteers. RESOLVED: That grant funding of £950.00 be awarded to Letchworth Amateur Swimming Club from the Discretionary Budget towards the cost of training four young volunteers in teaching aquatics. REASON FOR DECISION: To improve services provided by local organizations and groups which are accessed by the community. |
Agreed | ||
| 84 |
GRANT APPLICATION - LETCHWORTH ARTS CENTRE The Community Development Officer advised Members that grant funding was being sought for the outreach part of the project that would commemorate the centenary of World War I. Members asked that the Letchworth Arts Centre be requested to give an update to a future meeting of the Committee. RESOLVED: (1) That grant funding of £1500.00 be awarded to Letchworth Arts Centre from the Discretionary Budget towards the cost of outreach performances and workshops commemorating the centenary of World War I; (2) That the Community Development Officer be requested to invite the Letchworth Arts Centre to a future meeting of this Committee in order to give an update. REASON FOR DECISION: To improve services provided by local organisations and groups which are accessed by the community. |
Agreed | ||
| 85 |
GRANT APPLICATION - REMAP Prior to the item being discussed Councillor Levett declared a Declarable Interest in that he sometimes did voluntary work for this group, however the interest was not significant and he would therefore take part in the debate and vote. RESOLVED: That grant funding of £1000.00 be awarded to REMAP from the Discretionary Budget towards the cost of purchasing materials to be used in the manufacture of aids for people in the Letchworth area. REASON FOR DECISION: To improve services provided by local organisations and groups which are accessed by the community. |
Agreed | ||
| 86 |
GRANT APPLICATION - BOX CLEVA Prior to the item being discussed Councillor David Kearns declared a Declarable Interest as he was a board member of North Hertfordshire Homes, which funded Box Cleva. The interest was not significant and he would therefore take part in the debate and vote. RESOLVED: That grant funding of £1500.00 be awarded to Box Cleva from the Discretionary Budget towards the cost of new equipment for the Letchworth project. REASON FOR DECISION: To improve services provided by local organisations and groups which are accessed by the community. |
Agreed | ||
| 87 |
GRANT APPLICATION - LETCHWORTH GARDEN CITY FESTIVAL STEERING COMMITTEE Members felt that, at the time of the review of Memorandums of Understanding, consideration should be given to funding Letchworth Garden City Festival Steering Committee in that way. RESOLVED: (1) That grant funding of £1,500.00 be awarded to the Letchworth Festival Steering Committee from the Memorandum of Understanding Budget towards the cost of providing a Proms in the Park Event in 2014; (2) That grant funding of £500 be awarded to the Letchworth Festival Steering Committee from the Discretionary Budget to enable them to offer support to individual groups during the Festival; (3) That, at the time of the review of Memorandums of Understanding, The Community Development Officer ensure that consideration be given to funding the Letchworth Festival Committee in that way. REASON FOR DECISION: To improve services provided by local organisations and groups which are accessed by the community. |
Agreed | ||
| 88 |
WARD AND OUTSIDE ORGANISATIONS - MEMBERS' REPORTS There were no Member Reports regarding Ward and Outside Organisations. |
Agreed | ||
| 89 |
CLEARANCE OF LEAVES Councillor Kercher had previously requested a debate regarding the clearance of leaves in Letchworth Garden City (Minute 71 refers). She informed Members that each year she received complaints regarding clearance of leaves. She noted that Broadway was kept clear of leaves and felt that Pixmore Way, as another main entrance into Letchworth Garden City, should be cleared in the same way. Councillor Kercher was also concerned about the danger of people walking on wet leaves and asked whether the Committee would investigate how often leaves were collected in Letchworth Garden City and how much each collection cost. Members agreed that a report on the policy and procedures regarding the clearance and collection of leaves be requested. RESOLVED: That the Head of Leisure and Environmental Services be requested to provide a report on the policy and procedures regarding clearance and collection of leaves in Letchworth Garden City to the next meeting of this Committee due to be held on 12 March 2014. REASON FOR DECISION: To enable the Letchworth Committee to consider the policy and procedures regarding the clearance and collection of leaves in Letchworth Garden City. |
Agreed | ||
| 90 |
LETCHWORTH PARKING REVIEW Councillor Grindal had previously requested a debate regarding the Letchworth Parking Review (Minute 71 refers). Councillor Grindal informed Members that he was receiving an increasing number of complaints regarding commuter parking in Letchworth Garden City. He acknowledged that the Letchworth Parking Review had been started, but he had been informed that the process could take up to 3 years to complete, and that the current and increasing parking problems, particularly in the Wilbury area, could not wait that long to be resolved. Hertfordshire Highways were reluctant to take any action until the Letchworth Parking Review had been completed. Members agreed that parts of the Town were having serious problems with commuter parking, which needed swift action. They acknowledged that Controlled Parking Zones could move a problem to another area and suggested that the multi storey car park could be remain open for 24 hours a day, which may encourage more commuters to park there. They agreed that an update regarding the progress of the Letchworth Parking review should be requested and that possible solutions that could be implemented prior to completion of the review be considered. RESOLVED: That the Strategic Planning and Projects Manager be requested to attend the next meeting of this Committee due to be held on 12 March 2014 to give an update on the Letchworth Parking Review. |
Agreed | ||