Norman Baker, the Lib Dem Shadow Transport Secretary, has made it clear that FCC should lose its franchise because of its continuing poor performance and the way passengers have been treated. He was speaking at public meeting called by the Party to discuss the railways company’s record.

The meeting was also addressed by Sandy Walkington and chaired by Chris White.

Photograph courtesy of Gary Shore contactable at gaslights@googlemail.com

UKIP have been making the following claim entirely without foundation:

I achieved a major breakthrough today with a committment from Herts Highways that the phasing of the traffic signals at Peahen junction of Holywell Hill will be changed in the next two to three weeks so that the pedestrian lights in Verulam Road will stay green whilst the main lights are green. This should immediately ease the long traffic queues along Verulam Road that have blighted the junction for years.

This is an area which I have been campaigning on for some time and I received yesterday the following statement from Herts Highways:

“Following discussions between the Mid Herts Area Office and the traffic signal team at Herts Highways it was agreed that the co-ordination between the Peahen traffic signal junction and the High Street pedestrian crossing would be investigated and improved if possible.

A call was passed to the traffic signal section from (Mid Herts AO) asking us to discuss the gentleman’s complaint. It was not explained that Mr Stocker was a member of a political party. Mr Stocker was told about the work that was currently being undertaken.”

So: no breakthrough and indeed no action. Merely a phone call where the results of my campaigning work were given out to someone who was posing as an ordinary member of the public.

Typical shabby UKIP tactics.

Libraries across St Albans City and District are to loan out electricity monitors so that residents can find out how much electricity their household is using, the cost of that energy and the amount of CO2 emissions they are producing.

In a trial initiative organised by St Albans City and District Council, St Albans Central Library and Harpenden Library have been offering residents a free three-week loan of the devices. This trial has been so successful that the Council has now arranged for electricity monitors to be available on loan from all the libraries in the District.
Studies have shown that by using an electricity monitor households become more aware of how energy is being wasted and, by changing their behaviour, can reduce the amount of their energy bills.

The electricity monitors are simple to use. All residents have to do is clip a transmitter onto their electricity meter so that the wireless device can display real-time information about their usage. As they wander around the house throughout the day, switching appliances on and off, they can then see which appliances use the most energy. The more appliances that are switched on, the higher the values displayed on the monitor. Each of the electricity monitors come with instructions, a battery recharger and rechargeable batteries, where required.

Councillor Geoff Churchard, portfolio holder for Environment and Sustainability, at St Albans City and District Council said: “These electricity monitors will help residents understand their energy consumption, and offer them the opportunity make savings on the amount of their energy bills.”

Solar photovoltaic panels installed on the roof of St Albans City and District Council’s offices in St Peter’s Street last year have produced 9.416MWh of electricity, saving the Council more than £560 in fuel costs.

Since their installation in March last year, the 75 polycrystalline panels have produced energy equating to a saving of 5.348 tonnes in CO2 emissions.

The Council is also expecting to receive an annual payment of around £1,000 through the government’s Renewable Obligation Certificates incentive scheme, which rewards microgeneration schemes with cash.

Real-time information about the amount of electricity being produced by the panels and the carbon dioxide savings that are being made is displayed on a unit in the reception area of the council offices and is accessible to residents.

Cllr Geoff Churchard, portfolio holder for Environment and Sustainability for St Albans City and District Council, said: “The solar panels are proving to be a real benefit, helping the Council reduce fuel costs and CO2 emissions by producing electricity. They are just one example of the many steps that the Council is taking to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions and is one that residents and local businesses can also follow. There are more than 70 actions in the Council’s Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change Action Plan.”

The Council is committed to minimising the impact of its activities on the environment across all service areas and is introducing a range of measures to reduce energy use, transport emissions, consumption of resources and waste production. The Council’s Carbon Management Plan sets out a range of actions that it will implement to achieve its target of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 25% in 2013 from a baseline year of 2006/7.

St Albans City and District Council is to meet with Tesco to discuss the future use of its London Road site following the supermarket’s decision to abandon plans to build a large store on the land and to relocate its city centre store to the old Woolworths building in St Peter’s Street, St Albans.

The Council is planning to consult with Tesco on the future use of the site, as part of its work on the emerging Core Strategy for the Local Development Framework (LDF) for St Albans City and District. The LDF incorporates work undertaken last year on the City and Rural Vision, which is now being combined to form a District Vision.

Cllr Robert Donald, leader of St Albans City and District Council, said: “I am obviously delighted that Tesco has decided to develop a store on the Woolworths site rather than the London Road site as this was never the right location for a superstore and reflects the views of the majority of local residents.

“However, I am anxious that action is taken by Tesco to bring its properties on London Road and Inkerman Road back into habitable use as soon as possible now.

“I welcome Tesco’s willingness to consult with the Council on developing the remainder of this site. The Council’s Chief Executive, Daniel Goodwin, its Head of Planning and Building Control, Heather Cheesbrough, and I, are meeting with Tesco in the near future to talk about their long-term plans for London Road so that they meet the key objectives of the Council’s emerging Core Strategy of the Local Development Framework. As part of that meeting, we will obviously explore the need for additional housing and the provision of a primary school site in the City.”

As part of the next stage in the preparation of the core strategy of LDF, the Council will be preparing Development Briefs for key sites identified in its City Vision document. The Development Briefs will provide more detailed information to developers and investors of the type and quantity of development the Council would like to see.

Cabinet decided in January to remove eight Areas of Search for housing development, all of which were in the Green Belt, from the Core Strategy for the LDF. This followed the initial phase of the Shaping Our Community consultation on the core strategy during which it became apparent that there was significant public opposition to the building of houses on Green Belt land.

The Council will now investigate other opportunities for housing development within St Albans and the District in order to find the balance of housing units needed to comply with its target of 7,200 homes by 2021.

Cllr Donald, added: “It is one of the Council’s priorities to safeguard the environment, especially protecting the Green Belt. This is a position that is supported by residents who made their views very clear through the public consultation. Following the withdrawal of the eight Areas of Search for housing development, we are now looking for sites elsewhere in the District that would be suitable for the building of homes especially brownfield plots. The London Road site, owned by Tesco, could be one of these.”

Further consultation is due to be carried out on the core strategy before a final report is published on the Shaping Our Community consultation at the end of March.

Miramar, a Bulgarian production company, has sent the following message to councillors:

The streets in which we’ll be filming on Sunday 14th March are French Row, Market Place and the corner of High Street with Chequer St.

We won’t film any members of the public as we’re providing our own extras.

See film made by St Albans Review featuring local residents and Sandy Walkington and Chris White:

http://www.stalbansreview.co.uk/

1 The new main pool is 6.4% larger than the current main pool.
2 The new main pool is wider and shorter than the current pool.
3 The dimensions of the new main pool are those that are used for competitive swimming ie 25 meters X 8 lanes wide. This means that county swimming galas and school swimming matches can be held there. The current dimensions of the old pool are not the ones used for competitive matches.
4 The new learner pool is 77.1 % larger than the current learner pool.
5 A new area of ‘confidence water’ - ie very shallow water with water spouts and fun play for very young children, has been included in the new complex
6 The new main pool has a moveable floor for 50% of its length. This allows the depth to be reduced so that two activities requiring different water depths could take place at the same time. eg public swimming and a swimming class.
7 The new learner pool has a moveable floor for 100% of its length, allowing a good range of various activities to take place there

With this combination of 3 pools and the flexibility that altering the depth of the water gives the programming, I believe that design of the new complex will be bigger and better than the current old pools and therefore a much better facility for the residents.

The following is copied from Sandy Walkington’s blog

“Should FCC lose its franchise?” – Public Meeting 16th March
March 9th, 2010 · Sandy’s blog

I am still being inundated daily with e-mails and telephone calls about continued erratic performance from First Capital Connect. And their mean and overly complex compensation offer is leaving people frustrated and angry.

The mechanism exists for rail franchises to be handed back if franchisees fail to deliver the promised service. FCC seems to have had a charmed life in hanging on to its lucrative monopoly, it is time that passengers had their say.

So we are calling a public meeting for next Tuesday 16 March to discuss whether FCC should now lose their franchise. The main speaker will be my friend Norman Baker MP, Liberal Democrat Transport Spokesman in the House of Commons. The meeting will take place at Marlborough Road Methodist Church in the centre of the city (see directions here) and starts at 7.00 pm with doors opening at 6.30 pm – so do put the date in your diary!

When I successfully proposed my motion on rail franchises at last autumn’s Liberal Democrat conference, Norman summed up the debate. The Daily Mail has described him as having ‘consistently been a thorn in the Government’s side’. In 2001 he was named “Inquisitor of the Year” in the Zurich/Spectator Parliamentarian of the Year Awards and, in February 2002, he won the Channel 4 Opposition MP of the Year Award.

It’s going to be a lively meeting, I hope to see you there.

HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

TEMPORARY CLOSING AND TEMPORARY WAITING RESTRICTIONS IN VARIOUS ROADS IN HARPENDEN AND ST ALBANS

(Extracts relevant to St Albans Central Division)

NOTICE is given that the Hertfordshire County Council intend to make an Order under Section 14[1] of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, to prohibit all traffic from using the following lengths of roads, except for access and to prohibit all vehicles from waiting on both sides of these lengths of roads whilst works are in progress:-

7. that length of Beaumont Avenue, St Albans from its junction with Sandpit Lane south eastwards to its junction with Beechwood Avenue, a distance of approximately 801 metres.

8. that length of Cannon Street, St Albans from its junction with A4147 Folly Lane north eastwards to its junction with Folly Avenue, a distance of approximately 182 metres.

17. that length of Palfrey Close, St Albans from its junction with Waverley Road south eastwards for its entire length.

24. that length of Waverley Road, St Albans from its junction with Normandy Road south eastwards and north eastwards to its junction with Townsend Drive, a distance of approximately 409 metres.

25. that length of Woodstock Road South, St Albans from its junction with Brampton Road southwards to its junction with A1057 Hatfield Road, a distance of approximately 263 metres.

The purpose of the Order is to enable carriageway repair works to take place.

It is anticipated that the sections of roads will each be closed and the temporary waiting restrictions will be in place between the hours of 7.30am and 5.30pm (Mondays to Sundays inclusive) for up to 10 days, sometime during the period 6 April 2010 and 6 November 2010, when signs are in place. Alternative signed routes will be provided for traffic whilst the road closures are in place.

If you have any queries about the carriageway repair works, the temporary road closures or the temporary waiting restrictions, please contact the Project Engineer concerned Dave Whelan tel. 01707 356200 at Hertfordshire Highways.

County Hall 18 March 2010
Hertford John Wood
Herts Director of Environment and
SG13 8DN Commercial Services