PARK STREET AND DISTRICT RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION
NEWSLETTER - No 80, SPRING 1999
available in booklet form to members via post - please note, the most current issue will not be shown on this page
EDITING SUB COMMITTEE CHAIR: MRS. LORAINE WENHAM, 10,OLD ORCHARD, PARK STREET, ST. ALBANS, HERTFORDSHIRE.
EDITING SUB COMMITTEE MEMBERS: MR. MERVYN RAMSEY, 182,TIPPENDELL LANE; MR. BEN WILKINSON, 218,WATLING STREET
GENERAL WEBSITE EDITOR: BEN WILKINSON - psraonline@hotmail.com
ARTICLES SIGNED BY ED. OR EDITOR ARE FROM LORAINE WENHAM. MOST ARTICLES WHICH ARE NOT MARKED WITH A NAME ARE BY A MEMBER OF THE EDITING SUB-COMMITTEE.
HONORARY LIFE PRESIDENT PETER RAWLING
The Association has reluctantly accepted the resignation of its honorary life president, Peter Rawling and wishes to thank him for his efforts on its behalf over many years.
---oOo---
ROAD AGENTS
Welcome to Lydia Thomson (The Mall) and Jean Wright (Woodlands)
---oOo---
NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The Annual General Meeting of the Association will be held on Tuesday 27th April 1999 at 8pm in the Park Street Baptist Church, Penn Road. Should you have any matter you wish to raise it would be helpful if you could notify the Hon. Secretary by 17th April. The matter can then be placed on the agenda under 'Any Other Business'. Questions will also be taken from the floor.
This is an election year for those of you living in the Paris of St. Stephen; the Association will be supporting up to four of its members in the election and they will be in attendance at the AGM to answer your questions.
Agenda
1. Apologies for absence
2. Minutes of the 1998 Annual General Meeting
3. Report of the Chairman
4. Report of the Acting Hon. Treasurer and presentation of accounts
5. Election of officers
6. Election of committee members
7. Election of Hon. Auditor(s)
8. Any other business
Due to pressures of personal business, Peter Wenham is standing down as Chairman/Parish Councillor, there are also other vacancies to fill. Should you be interested in serving, you would not have to attend every monthly meeting of the committee. We do get a lot of enjoyment out of helping our local community and we would be very pleased to welcome aboard some new faces to help us and even keep us on our toes!
Please bring your membership cards with you, refreshments will be served.
---oOo---
BULBS
Trevor Gurd and his merry helpers have been out planting bulbs again: the banks on the A5183 by Mount Drive should be a picture by the time this Newsletter reaches you.
---oOo---
FANCY A SURF?
The technology whizz-kids amongst you may be interested to hear of the new Park Street Residents Association Internet site. It can be found at http://welcome.to/parkstreet. It is not entirely finished yet, but I guarantee that a visit will be worthwhile.
If there is anything that you would like to be included on this Internet site, please contact me (telephone no. 873346) and I will be happy to oblige. Alternatively send a message to the PSRA's new e-mail address (yes we really are ready for the 21st century!) psraonline@hotmail.com.
Ben Wilkinson
---oOo---
PARK STREET NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
The original Neighbourhood Watch began in the 1980's, but quietly and unobtrusively 'died' (for lack of popular support), sometime in the early 1990's. Some people believe that it does still exist and insist they remain members, but unfortunately they are wrong and the old Watch is superseded by the new!
Largely thanks to the efforts of our then 'village bobby', (PC Nigel Read, now retired), the present Park Street Neighbourhood Watch (PSNW) was formed following a public meeting in the Penn Road Baptist Church Hall in 1997. A committee was formed, a constitution adopted and the first volunteer road Coordinators were appointed in September 1997.
The PSNW has been active for almost 1.5 years, has more than 620 member households (about 50% of the possible) and has recently arranged for the erection of "This is a Neighbourhood Watch area" road signs in the first 17 roads where membership exceeds 50% of households. These signs should be in position before this article is published, in the following roads: Acers, Balmoral CLose, Broomfield, Burston Drive, The Danes, Dell Rise, Fairway Close, Grovebury Gardens, Homestead Close, The Mall, Maplefield, Mulberry Close, Mount Drive, Park Street Lane, Penn Road, Seaman Close, Spooners Drive, Tippendell Lane and Wych Elms.
Other roads will be signed as membership increases, in one or more furthere phases. Members should be aware that street signs were purchased for the PSNW by courtesy of our local insurance brokers, Abbey & Bragg Insurance Services of Frogmore (tel. 873500), who will be pleased to quote for your household insurance at very competetive rates, especially dicounted for members of the Watch. You can save your modest £1 joining fee and £1 annual subscription many times over!
The PSNW wishes to cover all roads in Park Street (and eventually Frogmore); to do so we need first to recruit coordinators for the following roads: Alder Close, Branch Road, Birchwood Way, Baytree Close, The Beeches, Hawfield Gardens, How Wood, Magnolia Close, Old Orchard, Oliver Close, Pilgrim Close, The Rise, Upton Close, Sycamore Drive, White Beams, Wood End, Woodlands, Withy Place and Yew Tree End. (Many of these are small roads or cul-de-sac, but we feel it is important to include them).
Coordinators do not necessarily have to be residents of the roads listed above, but merely be willing to cover them as coordinators. We would also like to see a new coordinator from among the 8 or so PSNW members in the Frogmore Mobile Home Park since Eileen Hedges had to resign from that role for health reasons.
If you are willing to act as coordinator for any of the above (and it really takes very little time or effort), please contact the PSNW Group Coordinator, Mr. Phil Harris, on 874119, who will be pleased to hear from you and provide you with details. If you would like to join the PSNW, or just seek further information about it, phone either Phil Harris, the Chairman Dr. Donald Minter (872204), the Vice Chairman Mr. Mervyn Ramsey (875940) or the Treasurer Mr. Ken Wildman (872397)
Donald Minter
---oOo---
VIEW FROM THE CHAIR
By the time you get to read this article, we shall be well on our way to the end of the current millennium, and what an eventful year it will turn out to be. It started with the introduction of the 'Euro', it has continued with further falls in our bank rate. Towards the end of the year many companies will be preparing for the transition to the new millenium and many people will be preparing for their transition, ie. organising parties.
Looking towards the local scene, public consultation on the proposed £80 million transport scheme linking Watford and Hatfield through St. Albans is expected to start mid year. This scheme, if put into operation as currently proposed, will have a very large impact on our area. Having attended a presentation on the scheme to the District Council (8th Feb, 1999), the following salient points were noted.
* The scheme, as proposed will not be in operation until 2007
* Traffic congestion, in the mean time, will continue to get worse
* The scheme will cut congestion in 2015 (yes, 2015) by 15%
* The new 'tram' will run over the route of the Abbey Flyer rail line and travel on to Hatfield via Holywell Hill, St. Peters Street and Hatfield Road.
* The Abbey Flyer will be out of commission for two years while the new tramway is constructed.
* It is unlikely that the tram will run into Watford Station where the Flyer currently terminates. The tram will divert by Homebase onto the main road and thence via the road system to a stop in front of Watford Station.
* To acheive a stated 10 minute service in trams, with a degree of reliability, traffic on Holywell Hill, St. Peters Street and the Hatfield Road will have to be reduced (and by more than 15%). How this is to be acheived still has to be determined. The scheme's designers seem to have ignored the fact that St. Albans is a medieval city with relatively narrow roads whereas towns with tram systems tend to have much wider roads and/or good peripheral routes to drain away through traffic
* If the scheme is a flop, then there will be no way the Abbey Flyer could be reconstituted as the existing rail bed will have been torn up and replaced with a concrete strip.
While the Association will work on your behalf in this matter, as it does on many other issues, please do keep an eye out for the public consultations (for the proposed tram). Make your views known, and don't forget to let the Association committee know your views also. We are your Association. If you don't tell us your views, the Association committee cannot properly represent them at the various meetings that they attend. For example, the four Parish Councillors for Park Street are Association committee members.
Peter Wenham, Chairman
---oOo---
Parish Elections take place in May this year, the Association will be supporting up to four nominees.
---oOo---
WHERE WAS DIDDLEM HALL?
Thanks to a reader of the St. Albans Observer, we now know where the building called 'Diddlem Hall' stood. It was a local slang name for Verulam Hills farm. This stood at the junction of the Causeway and Mud Lane. If you are still none the wiser, the Causeway runs from King Harry Lane to the bottom of Abbey Mill Lane. Mud Lane is the path which runs from Holywell Hill past Westminster Lodge and the running track until it meets the Causeway at the edge of the lake.
No one seems to know how it acquired the slang name. It was always called that in the living memory of those who were children c1930/40
THE FROGMORE AND MOOR MILL GRAVEL PITS
The Park Street and Frogmore Society was created when one of our local councillors asked for volunteers to run a new nature reserve. This covered the area occupied by the gravel pits. Those of us who responded to this call soon realised that, for various reasons, the nature reserve was not going to be made official for the foreseeable future. We decided to stay together and form the Park Street and Frogmore Society, with the objective of promoting interest in local history and nature conservation.
As time passes the pits are maturing and various plants and animals are moving in. We want to promote the pits as an asset for local people and as a place to visit. There are several barriers to be overcome to acheive this.
Firstly, we do not own the pits. They are property of Lafarge-Redland. Redlands have been relatively co-operative but they are a business not a social service.
Secondly, common sense tells us that Redlands cannot afford an indefinite commitment to manage the area. Nor can we imagine a local authority being willing to accept total responsibility, even if it is made over as a gift to the local community. There is a significant discharge of methane from the areas which were used for land fill and these alone have a cost for monitoring and safety.
Thirdly, there is on going management cost. This could be met in part by local volunteer workers and grants. It is inevitable that local people would have to campaign continuously to raise money to pay for the many management costs of such a large area. Some obvious examples which are needed now are:
Maintenance of the paths which are not official footpaths. They are subject to erosion from continued use. If we succeed in attracting more visitors this will get worse. Control of plant growth to avoid dominance by one species and maintenance of various habitats to ensure conditions are suitable for the continued survival of the inhabitants. Erection of barriers at the site entrances which will permit the passage of pushchairs and wheelchairs but prevent trials bikes from entering. These bikes are a safety hazard and a noise pollutant. They are ridden recklessly and destroy the surfaces they are ridden on.
We want to see access improved for the disabled and the elderly but we do not want to turn it into a manicured park. That would destroy its character and drive away the wildlife. Sadly we cannot publicise a number of the most interesting inhabitants (flora and fauna) because there are among us some anti-social and unscrupulous people. A local has recently been arrested for trapping and caging goldfinches and last year an idiot picked all of the orchids.
If you would like to help us acheive our aims why not join us. Contact Tony Stevens on P/S 873612
Tony Stevens
---oOo---
CARTOON - See seperate web page
---oOo---
PRODUCTS FOR PLANT CARE
As a change from gardening tips and general information on keeping healthy plants, here are some basic details on what plant products contain and what they can do for plant growth and care.
Growmore (National Growmore) - this is a balanced pellated chemical plant feed which improves the development of leaves, flowers/fruits and roots of plants. The pellets dissolve out into a solution in the soil and are taken in by the roots and last for about 8 weeks.
Blood, Fish and Bonemeal - this is an organic fertiliser avoiding use of chemicals in the soil. The first constituents (blood and fish) act quickly on plant growth and improve leaf and flower/fruit size whilst the bonemeal remains in the soil, feeding the plant through an improved root structure, over a longer period.
Peat - this is a fibrous material that has been cut from areas of land that has had many seasons of leaves deposited onto it and has become compressed. The wet cuts are dried, ground up and any large debris removed. The refined peat is then compressed into plastic bags. Peat, when added to heavy, wet soils, improves aeration and soil drainage, allowing roots to form in the lighter soils.
These garden products and many more can be obtained from St. Stephens Horticultural Society Store in Drop Lane, Bricket Wood, every Saturday between 2pm and 4pm. Further advice on gardening materials and their uses is available to anyone calling at the Store between these times, with products on display and stocks ready for purchase.
Peter Planter
---oOo---
MOTORCYCLE TRACK PLANNING APPLICATION
The petition against this planning application was handed in to the Mayor by the Chairman of the Parish Council and the Parish Clerk on Thursday 18th February. It had 2,372 signatures and was mentioned in Council Chambers when a change of use planning application was debated on Monday 22nd February. The Officers of St. Albans District Council, District Councillors and Parish Councillors were unanimous in their rejection of that application on the grounds of pollution from the landfill, noise and inappropriate use of greenbelt land so close to homes. We are awaiting news of the appeal.
---oOo---
PLAY TENNIS '99
This is a nationally promoted LTA initiative to attract more players to the sport. Greenwood Park Tennis Club is joining in this exciting event, during the first week of May, by offering a Fun-Day for the whole family, free tennis/coaching sessions and the opportunity to find out more about your local tennis club.
The Club should have its new fifth court built and up and running by then, thanks to the recently awarded lottery grant - so come and visit us! Contact B/W 404538 for further information.
---oOo---
RINGWAY ROAD
The people living around the green in Ringway Road have been concerned in recent months about their outlook. It all started when the Three Valleys Water Board's contractor started replacing the main water supply pipes, due to their age. Until then the green was a tidy grass, shrub and tree area but as the work progressed it unfortunately became a muddy eyesore. Inspite of atrocious weather, some unplanned incidents resulted in the water supply being cut off more than was originally planned and the electricity supply being cut on one occasion, normal supplies were resumed in the end.
Unfortunately, the contactors left the green in a totally unacceptable state and 'The Green Association' was formed by the residents. Following telephone calls, correspondence and meetings with the water board, it was agreed that the contractor would put the matter right. Now after its second sowing and regular watering by residents when necessary, the grass seems to be flourishing.
The Green Association decided that this was an ideal opportunity to rejuvenate the complete appearance of the area. The PSRA supported the intention and the Green Association approached St. Stephens Parish Council to explore the possibilities of obtaining a grant for the purpose. The grant was awarded and with their ideas and some professional advice from Burston Tyler Nurseries, an overall plan was agreed. Now a spell of decent weather is needed so the residents can do the work without damaging the new grass.
Members of 'The Green Association'
---oOo---
PROPOSED BMX TRACK
The City and District Council has given the go ahead for a one year pilot BMX track in the Park Street Recreation Ground. Pedal cycles only will be permitted and at this point in time no ramps or hills are to be constructed. We have asked that a path be constructed across to the cycling area from the footpath to save the grass, but this will not be provided.
---oOo---
ANYONE FOR CRICKET?
We understand that thanks to our efforts and those of one of our District Councillors, the lost seats in the recreation ground are going to be replaced in time for the cricket season!
---oOo---
CROSSING PATROL
Please take extra care on Park Street Lane at Oliver Close as there is now a lolly-pop lady school crossing patrol in operation, complete with drop down kerbs for folk with pushchairs.
---oOo---
355 BUS SERVICE
Some 120 bus users have handed in a petition to the Council about the unreliability of this bus service. We are also monitoring the buses and details of late or missing buses should be sent to Loraine Wenham or the Secretary. By the time you receive this newsletter, the service will have reverted to an hourly one. We also understand that the matter has been referred to the Traffic Commission.
SPOT THE DIFFERENCE
There is something different about this issue of your PSRA Newsletter. It may look the same from the outside and we hope it is still as good on the inside, however something has changed!
Ten years (or 30 issues) ago in 1989, the then editor of the Newsletter found herself suddenly unable to continue. There was nobody to take over and the Christmas issue was due out in a matter of days. It was in this emergency that John Baker with the help of his late wife, Mildred, stepped in to get the magazine out. So, as from that year Mr. Baker became the temporary editor of the newsletter.
However, as with all temporary posts in the Residents Association (see how long our 'Acting' Hon Treasurer has been acting for!), it took a little longer than expected to find somebody to relieve him of his duties.
A decade of exemplary newsletters down the line, John decided that it really WAS time to pass over the job to someone new. It then only took a year from his retirement plan appearing in the committee's minutes before a solution was found: an editing sub-committee!
After some arguments, broken windows and the committee being arrested for breach of the peace it was settled that the sub-committee would consist of Loraine Wenham, Mervyn Ramsey and Ben Wilkinson. This Spring 1999 issue of the Newsletter is the first one that we have produced, so that is what is different about this newsletter!
We are sure that all readers would join us in saluting John Baker for all his VERY hard work over the last few years (it is surprising how much work is involved, especially with our less than high-tech method of production). We very much hope that John continues to make contributions from time to time to keep us amused but we sincerely hope you will keep YOUR articles, anecdotes, etc. coming aswell. We in the sub-committee only hope that we can keep up the very high standards that JB has set over the years!
Ben Wilkinson
---oOo---
BUDDING SPIELBERGS APPLY WITHIN!
Plans are afoot to celebrate the millennium in style in St. Stephens Parish and we are putting a team together to record all the events on video for posterity. We are looking for volunteers to join us in making the video happen. You might have skills already in video making, or you might just own a 'camcorder' and want to be part of this historical project. Either way, we want to hear from you (in return we are offering training and help to develop your skills in video making).
Don't be shy, this will be great fun and a really worthwhile way to spend just a few of your hours in 1999. Call Dave or Dan for further details on P/S 874239 or B/W 404247
---oOo---
DIARY DATES
St. Stephens Horticultural Society - Special Events 1999
The society has arranged the following talks for both members and non-members to attend, with a question and answer session afterwards. Refreshments will be available. See local notice boards for venues and times.
17th March - FUCHSIAS; 19th May - ROSES; 6th October - KEW GARDENS 'RECOVERY AFTER HURRICANE'
Further to past successful outings, half day tours to interesting gardens have been arranged, again, for both members and non-members. Each outing is on a Saturday leaving Bricket Wood station at 10am.
17th April - YEALDING ORGANIC GARDENS; 12th June - RHS GARDEN WISLEY; 18th September - CAPEL MANOR
Village Hall Fund Raisers
QUIZ EVENINGS to be held on Saturdays 27th March, 5th June, 24th July, 25th September and 27th November. Information and tickets for these popular evenings can be obtained from Dick Downs on P/S 768642 or Mervyn Ramsey on 875940.
DANCE TO 'WORKOUT' live five-piece band on Saturday 8th May. This will be a very popular evening so get your tickets from Dick nice and early!
GRAND DRAW 8th May - tickets from Dick Downs.
13-15th May PARK PLAYERS perform One Act Play
16-17th July - PARK PLAYERS in LOVELETTERS, a romantic drama.
St. Stephens Parish Pageant
11 July - All day fun for everyone at Greenwood Park, including our HOG ROAST under the direction of a local caterer!
---oOo---
END OF NEWSLETTER ISSUE 80
ISSUE 81 WILL APPEAR ON THIS WEBSITE WHEN ISSUE 82 IS DELIVERED TO MEMBERS