Reader Feed Back

Dear Ron,

Having visited the ‘road-show’ held in Roundwood School last night, I felt that I must send you an e-mail expressing how wholly inappropriate I consider the scheme to be and hope that the authorities will see sense and abandon it without further expenditure and resources being applied to it.

Where did they find the name New Farm? I have lived in the locality for over 35 years and have never heard any reference whatsoever to the name nor is it shown on the large scale Ordnance Survey Pathfinder Map 1095. Was it an attempt to make us think it is somewhere else?

Or, much more sinisterly and worryingly, was it a secret code name for the project given by Herts County Council, who, according to Councillor Bernard Lloyd retained a confidential embargo for no less than SIX years on the discussion of their investigations with residents!

It is well accepted that traffic in the Roundwood Lane area is at problem levels and much work on traffic management and traffic calming has recently been undertaken by the local authorities who should have fully recognised the increased hazard which the proposed development will impose; let alone the noise, pollution and general nuisance factors.

The development would mean the loss of a valuable amenity facility in regular use by local residents who enjoy having the facility, which is particularly attractive in all seasons, nearby.

The area has been treated by the local authority as ‘sacred’ Green Belt as has been evidenced by the numerous failed Planning Applications over the years.

Let us hope that the sponsors of the scheme take a fresh and objective look at their proposals, see how singularly inappropriate they are and scrap them.

Yours sincerely

Douglas Knowles   28th Oct.

Please forward your comments back to me.

Ron Taylor

info@harpendia.com

Alan Bunting, 42 Ridgewood Drive, Harpenden AL5 3LH   29th Oct.

Dear Sir,

Your Harpenden Edition (HERTS ADVERTISER)  front page story (October 25) rightly conveyed the outrage felt by residents in north-west Harpenden when the plan for around 32 acres of Green Belt adjacent to Roundwood Lane to be turned into playing fields was sprung on them.  Quite apart from the bungled arrangements for public consultation, with only two days notice being given of the exhibition outlining the proposals, there are so many legitimate objections to the scheme that one is amazed at the temerity of Hertfordshire County Council, as the owners of the land, in putting it forward.

Turning this massive area of natural countryside into football fields, as proposed, is no more nor less than semi-urbanisation, as evidenced by the comparable Woollam Playing Fields development off Harpenden Road, St Albans, which was allowed to eat into the Green Belt north of the city.  Habitats for flora and fauna are destroyed, along with the area’s appeal for those of us who have chosen to live in rural surroundings.

Even more sinister implications arise when one takes note of the huge number of playing fields in this country sacrificed in recent decades to housing or commercial development.  The proposed development at New Farm – incidentally no one I have spoken to has ever heard of New Farm until now – could therefore be seen as a stepping stone towards redesignation of the land in due course by Herts CC for housing.    

Parking for 100 cars is provided for in these ill-conceived plans, the car park being accessed from Roundwood Lane, close to its junction with Falconers Field.  Regular users of Roundwood Lane know that about 200 yards after turning off Luton Road it becomes so narrow that two wide vehicles, typically a school bus and a delivery truck, are unable to pass each other without the eastbound vehicle mounting the footpath – there being no footpath on the other side.  If 100 motorists were attempting to reach the proposed playing fields for a designated kick-off time, traffic chaos would inevitably ensue.

Apart from the environmental objections to the scheme, one is forced to ask whether there are further hidden agendas. Why do Harpenden Colts FC require eleven football pitches, as shown on the plans?  We are told that they currently play most of their home matches in Rothamsted Park.  I frequently walk through the park on a Sunday morning and see three or at most four matches in progress, but nothing like eleven.  The likelihood of all eleven pitches at New Farm being required at the same time is surely remote. 

Even more questions arise. Would the new facility be unused during the summer months?  Notwithstanding the assurance that ‘there would be no bar area or alcohol on the premises’, would the large pavilion building in the plans be used for social events at ‘non playing’ times, notably in the evening?

Last but not least we are entitled to ask who would foot the bill if the plans are given the green light?  Herts CC, as the land owners are prime backers of the scheme.  Costs would surely arise which could only be recouped through higher council taxes. At a time of ongoing stringency in public sector expenditure, a decision to go ahead with such outlandish as well as controversial proposals would be madness.

ALAN BUNTING        

Early Yellow Card for the Colts!

Scroll down to read Bernard Lloyd’s letter and see a map of the proposal

10th November.

Hi Ron

 As a resident in Ashley Gardens, very close to the entrance to the proposed pitches, I am very concerned.

I managed to attend the public exhibition and have been in communication with my local county councillor, Bernard Lloyd.

It is very clear that Mr Lloyd is not concerned about the interests of the local residents and has a very clear agenda in trying to force this development through.

My most immediate concern is the safety of road users, cars, pedestrians, horse riders and cyclists, who all squeeze through Roundwood Lane. Whilst Mr Lloyd accepts that Roundwood Lane is far from ideal he does not think anything can be done. Therefore my conclusion is that this development is unsuitable.

I fear though that with local conservative councillors and Herts CC being behind this we face an uphill battle in preventing this going ahead against our wishes. It is a very sad day when conservative councillors are so dismissive of their constituents.

What is perhaps even more distasteful are the veiled threats from Mr Lloyd and others  that if this development is turned down then there is risk of even less suitable development of this greenbelt land, which I take to be housing development.

Kind regards

David Butler

Ashley Gardens

President : JOAN BARTHOLOMEWPlease Reply To :

22 MOORLAND ROAD

HARPENDEN

HERTS

AL5 4LA

13 November 2012

Dear Sirs,

Proposals for New Farm - Harpenden

HCFC and its 750 members has been seeking a home for many years and in doing so has always ensured that the residents of Harpenden, through its extensive network of supporters, have been made aware of this aspiration. Many residents will no doubt remember Colts seeking to establish a home in Ayres End Lane, which unfortunately was not possible. The local authorities publicly expressed their implicit support, at that time, to the Club in its future ventures to secure a home.

The Club has been extremely fortunate that it has retained this support and that through extensive dialogue with the County Council and its representatives has now found itself in a position to apply for planning permission to develop the site at New Farm to provide match and training facilities for HCFC.

The Club recognises that in doing so residents in the vicinity of New Farm will have genuine concerns as to what any development of this nature will entail. In this the Club is sensitive to these concerns and has emphasised aspects of development that it does not wish to be associated with. The Club, whilst maximising benefits for its existing and future members, does not seek to use New Farm “24/7” nor does the Club wish to place an artificial pitch and floodlights on the site. Additionally the proposed pavilion will be a single storey building designed to blend in with the local environment which the Club in its use will not be allowed to have a licence or function room. The Club respects these restrictions in use because it is aware of the potential disturbance and noise that may ensue should they not be in place.

The proposals to put football pitches onto existing green belt land will not alter the status of New Farm. The area upon which pitches will be provided will remain green belt land. Additionally, the Club is actively seeking to retain the footpath(s) from Roundwood Lane to the Nickey Line, preserve existing hedgerows and tree boundaries, plant screening using native trees and hedgerow plants and utilise, as appropriate, sustainable materials  including plastic mesh for the parking area that can  be seeded and retain a green appearance.

HCFC has been, and continues to be, a Club providing opportunities for young people and young adults to participate in a team sport that encourages their development in sport and general life skills – which the Club recognises will stay with them as they progress to adulthood and their elevation to responsible members of the local community. New Farm offers the Club and its members an invaluable opportunity to build on this and provide its members with a home from which a sense of unity and well being can be enhanced.

New Farm will not provide HCFC with all of its match day and training requirements, but it will allow the Club to have a home from which it can maintain its partnerships with local schools, recreation centres and like minded organisations and develop its identity in Harpenden as a “community club”.

Matches and training at weekends will be carefully managed in order to minimise the incidence of traffic flow within the locality of New Farm whereby ingress and egress to the site will be carefully monitored to minimise disruption to local residents. HCFC will at all times encourage its members to walk, cycle or car share to New Farm, as it does, at present, in using facilities in Harpenden.

Recognition of the importance HCFC places on this is also exemplified in the way it engages with existing providers of facilities for the Club – for example the staggering of match day kick offs and ensuring a mix in the 5, 7, 9 and 11 a side games so as not to overuse the facilities available for use at any given time when pitches are available and minimise disruption to residents in close proximity to the facilities used. The Club has been, and continues to be, sensitive to residents in and around the locality of existing facilities and will strive to ensure that this will continue to be the case at New Farm if successful in its application for planning permission.

I would hope that all concerned will appraise themselves of the proposal information available through the County Council, and if residents were unable to attend the first consultation meeting last week take the opportunity to attend the next one on the 22nd of November with an open mind prior to deciding whether the proposals offer an acceptable use of the area of land in question as well as a suitable home for Harpenden Colts FC.

Yours faithfully,

Robert Trevor

Chairman

Harpenden Colts FC

Herts FA support for the Harpenden Colts pitches.

According to The Herts Advertiser  Nov 19th

Nick Perchard, Herts FA chief executive, said the “positive aspects” of the Colts’ proposal far outweighed locals’ concerns.

Nick said the Colts approached Herts FA, the governing body for football in Herts since 1885, last year for advice on the project.

The organisation said it would support the club in securing funding from sports charity the Football Foundation, should planning permission be granted.

Click here for the full story.

www.hertsad.co.uk/news/herts_fa_back_harpenden_colts_pitches_plan_1_1694792

Nov 22. Roundwood residents unconvinced by Herts County Council second exhibition

Local residents turned out in force at Roundwood Park School to discuss the Council’s proposals with senior Councillors, consultants and Bob Trevor from Harpenden Colts.

The NFPG  (New Farm Protection Group) manned the front entrance to air their views and record visitor numbers prior to their next meeting on Nov 28 at The British Legion.

Visitor were encouraged to complete a questionnaire which would be analysed by  Vincent and Gorbing, the consultants engaged by Herts CC.

A formal planning application is expected soon.

Some local residents questioned the reasoning behind the two leases that would be applied should the planning application be granted. One for the Colts Playing Fields (the larger land area) and one for a future school development)

Photos. Top right. Supporters of NFPG. Centre. Steven Wood, SIAS Transport Consultants (left)  with Bernard Lloyd.

Bottom right. Bob Trevor (centre) of Harpenden Colts talking with local residents.

Below. A view of the exhibition in Roundwood Park School. 

We went to Redbourn at 11am yesterday to photograph and count the cars:

- 170 cars, 70 of which were down both sides of the street, blocking the pavement on 1 side of the road

- parking outside designated spaces within the car park - on all accessible grass, in disabled spaces (no permits displayed)

- unsafe parking - blocking the emergency entrance to the centre (but I could only get an angled photo of that as there were children in the background), on the corner of the car park entrance

- no-one from Colts controlling traffic or parking

- only 15 people using the centre itself (10 in the hall, 5 signed into the gym)so at least 155 cars for football

- only 5 pitches in use! It looked like 3 junior games, 1 youth Colts (11 a side) and 1 adult game that was probably nothing to do with Colts

- the adult game had very few "extras" off the pitch but the younger games had a lot more supporters & substitutes than players

So I think we can fairly claim 300 cars for 10 pitches at any one time on a normal match day and, even if our sample was at a changeover time, more traffic than this using the approach roads throughout the day assuming there will be at least 2 sessions a day.

Bob Trevor's claims that 100 spaces is sufficient and that parking will be considerate, safe and controlled does not stand up.

Gill and Nick

Nov. 28. Are Football matches noisy?

Welwyn Garden City residents force the closure of

King George V Playing Fields due to excess noise.

Reports from the Welwyn and Hatfield Times web site: The all weather 3G facility in King George V Playing Fields, WGC, were paid for with a £200,000 loan from Welwyn Hatfield Council.

But now the authority’s environmental health team has declared sound levels near residents’ homes are above acceptable levels.

Noise woes have plagued residents since the facility opened last October forcing Finesse Leisure – which manages the site on behalf of the council – to temporarily close the pitches six months after they were built. Following a three week noise trial with King George V FC in October footballers will now be given the red card for good. Click on the link to read the full story:

http://www.whtimes.co.uk/news/council_closes_own_200k_pitches_after_noise_complaints_1_1707282

Dec 11th. Harpenden Green Belt Association clarifies position on Colt’s Football pitches

Ron,  I am writing as the chairman of the Harpenden Green Belt Association about the proposal to put 11 football pitches, a pavilion and a hard standing car park on green belt land running between Roundwood Lane and the Nickey Line. We have met the New Farm Protection Group, and we have been in touch with the County Council, attended the exhibition at Roundwood Senior School and spoken to Bob Trevor of the Colts. It seems clear that green belt land can be used for this purpose, so that the land would remain in the green belt. The land is owned by the County, who are not proposing any change to its status as green belt. We have heard some people wonder if the idea for the new football fields might disguise some ulterior purpose, but that does not seem to be the case.

Our chief remit  as the Harpenden Green Belt Association is to work to defend the boundaries of the green belt around Harpenden. Our second aim grows out of that - to do what we can to see that the resources of the town are not out-stripped by the needs of the residents. Since there  is no proposal from County to take the land in question out of the green belt, there is nothing for us to campaign against in the idea. However County has not prepared its assessment yet on the traffic implications of the Colts proposal so we may reconsider when that is published.

We are also acutely aware that SADC has recently voted for a “green belt review” and that green belt land in Harpenden, including the New Farm site, may be considered for housing as a consequence of that review.  We at the Harpenden Green Belt Association will of course do everything in our power to ensure that New Farm is not lost from the green belt as a consequence of that review.

If any readers of Harpendia are not members of the Harpenden Green Belt Association would they please e-mail me on richardfthomas@btinternet.com . We are non political and membership is absolutely free. We have some 1300 members at present, but our effectiveness depends on the number of people we represent. If the district-wide green belt review opens our local green belt to predation we will have a fight on our hands. Please join!

Richard Thomas, Chairman

The Harpenden Green Belt Association

Above. Richard Thomas

Chairman

The Harpenden Green Belt Association

Reader Feedback. Dec 18th.

Bernard Lloyd on Three Counties Radio this morning admits I'm not a NIMBY but...

In an interview with BBC Three Counties Radio, Herts County Councillor Bernard Lloyd admitted that if he personally lived in the Roundwood area of Harpenden, close to the site where Harpenden Colts hope to establish a 32 acre, 11-pitch football field, he would join local residents in objecting to the proposals.  

Mr Lloyd, who is a prime supporter of the plans, was speaking after the New Farm Protection Group of local residents had voiced their own concerns on the same radio programme, focusing on the inevitable problems with traffic congestion and parking at and around the site, which can be accessed from Harpenden only via the constricted Roundwood Lane.  

Earlier, in a separate interview with the radio station, Colts FC chairman Bob Trevor set out the arguments in favour of the scheme, though he was unable to provide details of how its estimated cost of £1.5 to £2 million would be raised, conceding that the club’s business plan for the project had yet to be finalised.    Alan Bunting.

Listen to the Iain Lee Programme.    Click here. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p011hwht  

Reader Feedback. Dec 19th.

Roundwood residents challenge Bernard Lloyd’s and Colts’ Bob Trevor’s assertions on Three Counties Radio.

In response to the initial BBC Three Counties Radio coverage of the controversial plans by Harpenden Colts FC, to turn 32 acres of attractive countryside into an 11-pitch football ground, a number of residents from the Roundwood area phoned the radio station to challenge the assertions made the previous day by Colts chairman Bob Trevor and Herts County Councillor Bernard Lloyd.

As a parent of two boys who played for the Colts, and as such a member of the club, Elaine Norwood complained of lack of transparency in the club’s plans for financing the New Farm project, especially the ongoing costs of maintaining eleven pitches. Despite repeated attempts, she and other members had found Mr Trevor unwilling to discuss the implications of the £1.5 to £2 million scheme as far as members’ subscriptions were concerned. She could foresee subscriptions having to rise to a level where only Harpenden’s wealthier parents could afford them.      

John Davey, a resident of Roundwood Lane and a Colts football coach manager for 15 years, told listeners to the programme that the club needed no more playing and training pitches beyond the perfectly adequate facilities currently used at local schools and in Harpenden’s Rothamsted Park.  He said the waiting list of youngsters eager to join the Colts but having to be turned away was attributable to a shortage of coaches, not of available pitches.  Mr Davey also pointed out the potentially horrendous traffic problems which would arise at weekends adjacent to the New Farm site through hundreds of cars having to negotiate the narrow roads and even narrower lanes leading to the site to drop off or collect youngsters.

In attempting to answer Elaine Norwood’s and John Davey’s criticisms of the Colts FC scheme, Mr Trevor said he was not prepared to discuss the club’s business plan and financing details over the radio, or even directly with individual members. He referred them to the club’s AGM or other member meetings.  But under questioning from Three Counties interviewer Iain Lee, he conceded that member subscriptions would probably have to increase to cover the costs of the scheme, though he would not be drawn on the likely extent of those increases.  Alan Bunting.