St Albans Council begins new household energy efficiency scheme

Herts and Essex Energy Partnership (HEEP)

St Albans Council have begun a new household energy efficiency scheme which we want to publicise and promote to residents.

Until now, you have been referring residents interested in energy efficiency to the Energy Saving Trust (0800 512 012), Warm Front or Cocoon but from now on please divert any callers interested in:

– energy efficiency
– insulation (i.e. loft, cavity, solid wall)
– renewable technologies (i.e. solar panels)
– reducing fuel bills

to the following scheme:

Tel: 0800 980 6027
Web: www.heepgrant.org

Customers on benefits or over 70 – will be entitled to a wide range of measures, from insulation, to renewable technologies ABSOLUTELY FREE. There will be no contribution necessary from the customer.

Other customers – will have all of the above offered at a highly subsidized price (£99+) as well as full advice and support. In addition, they will be able to take advantage of an interest-free loan towards the price of renewable technologies such as solar panels.

This £6.6M project has been funded through the East of England Regional Assembly (EERA) and will be managed by Climate Energy.

If you require further information please contact
Candice Luper (Sustainability Officer) on 2466

Updated list of ENERGY-RELATED projects and offers

FREE Insulating Radiator Panels

SADC will provide six insulating radiator panels and a roll of tape to any householders that requests them for FREE (while stocks last).

Though there are no criteria to meet in order to obtain these panels, we would specifically like to target those who live in inefficient housing, the elderly, vulnerable or those struggling to pay their fuel bills so please publicise appropriately. (Social housing tenants should contact the Housing Department/housing association if they have questions about insulation).

This scheme is strictly DIY and they will need to fit the panels themselves behind radiators on external walls.

Panels, Tape and fitting instructions will be given out on request at the reception desks of the District Offices and Harpenden Town Hall. Staff giving these out should continue to record who has been given panels and pass this list to the Sustainability Team.

FREE Handheld Electricity Monitors

Handheld electricity monitors are available from St Albans Central Library for FREE 3 week loan to all SADC residents holding a library card.

These monitors enable householders to find out how much electricity their household is using, the cost of that energy and the amount of CO2 emissions they are producing.

Studies have shown that by using an electricity monitor households become more aware of where energy is being wasted and, as a consequence, they can save up to 20% on their energy bills.

Contact for all the above schemes:
Candice Luper (Sustainability Officer) ext 2466

How many more homes? The public debate begins

EERA press release

The public will be asked for their views on how many more homes are needed in the East of England in a major public consultation being launched on the 2nd September, the East of England Regional Assembly (EERA) announced today (18 August 2009).

The consultation will run until 24th November 2009 and will primarily seek views on four different scenarios for the number of new homes needed in each council area every year to 2031. Eleven consultation events are being held across the region in September where members of the public can hear more.

EERA Chairman Cllr John Reynolds said: “This consultation is to promote public debate on planning for the future of the region and specifically the issue of new homes.

“The East of England Plan is of interest to everyone in the region as it provides the framework for councils’ local plans and covers the economy, housing, transport, the environment and climate change.

“The Assembly has already rejected the highest end of the range of new homes being proposed by the Government. But we do need to plan ahead to ensure that people can gain access to homes they can afford and that new homes are close to jobs, transport and other public services.”

The Government has asked the Assembly to revise the East of England Plan which sets out how many new homes should be built each year (See Notes to Editors). The revised Plan will not be completed until 2011 and the public will have further opportunities to have their say. It is the responsibility of local councils to determine the exact locations of where new homes should be built through their local development frameworks.

Full details of the public consultation will be published on the Assembly’s website at midday on 2nd September.

Consultation events are being held in September at the following locations:

2nd – Norwich

3rd – Chelmsford

8th – Chicksands, Bedfordshire

9th – Stevenage

10th – Cambridge

14th – Peterborough

16th – Ipswich

22nd – Luton

23rd – Southend-on-Sea

24th – Thurrock

30th – Huntingdon

Residents can book a place online at: http://events.eera.gov.uk/conferences/ or contact Jayne Cole, Conference Organiser, EERA, 01284 729405, jayne.cole@eera.gov.uk

An information pack with full details of the review of the East of England Plan is available at: www.eera.gov.uk/News/public-information-packs

Ends

Notes to Editors:

For further information or to arrange an interview with an EERA spokesperson, please contact:

Stephen Hinchley, Tel: 01284 729430, Mob: 07710 312237, Email: stephen.hinchley@eera.gov.uk

Helen Sharkey, Project PR

tel: 01473 326405 mob: 07521 318127 email: helen.sharkey@projectpr.biz

EERA will issue a media release for each county in the East of England on 2nd September 2009 with the content of the consultation document and how to respond.

East of England Plan

The long-term planning framework for the sustainable development of the region is provided by the East of England Plan (Regional Spatial Strategy). The East of England Plan provides the basis for local authorities to prepare their local development plans and for other organisations to plan their investment e.g. NHS, Highways Agency, water companies etc.

The current East of England Plan1 sets out regional planning policy to 2021 but many councils are already preparing local plans stretching to 2026 and beyond. A focused review of the East of England Plan is therefore needed to set out regional planning policy from 2011 to 2031. It will plan for the region’s growth and prosperity, housing needs and respond to issues such as climate change.

The review of the East of England Plan will be completed in 2011. There will be public consultation at key stages of the process to enable members of the public and others to contribute. The review will consider:

– jobs and homes targets for 2011-2031 including affordable homes;

– broad locations for new development;

– regional infrastructure needs e.g. transport;

– targets to reduce the use of natural resources (energy, water) and greenhouse gas emissions;

– priorities for the environment such as the countryside and biodiversity protection.

In undertaking the East of England Plan 2031, the Assembly will be working closely with the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) and the Government Office for the East of England (GO-East).

East of England Regional Assembly

1. The East of England Regional Assembly is independent of Government and is not a Government agency or quango. It represents the regional interests of people living and working in the East of England.

2. The Assembly has 96 members of which two thirds are elected councillors (from the 52 local authorities in the region) and one third are stakeholder representatives. Its meetings are open to the media and general public.

3. The Assembly is the designated Regional Planning Body for the East of England until March 2010 when it will cease to exist.

Free sport and play activities for summer holidays

Children and young people are being given the chance to try their hand at a variety of sport and play activities during free sessions being held at 17 parks and open spaces across St Albans and City District this summer.

They will be able to take part in sport and physical activities at Sports in the Parks sessions and explore their creativity at Play in the Parks, previously known as Play Rangers.

Both schemes are aimed at young people aged 5 to 12 years and are provided by St Albans City and District Council and managed in partnership with Leisure Connection.

The activities will run over the six-week holiday period and will vary depending on the location and the number of children in attendance.

Cllr Sheila Burton, portfolio holder for sport and healthy living at St Albans City and District Council, said: “These sport and play schemes provide a fantastic opportunity for young people to develop skills in an enjoyable environment where they can also make new friends. They also help parents to keep their children entertained during the long summer holidays.”

For more information about both programmes visit www.stalbans.gov.uk

or telephone the Sports Development team on 01727 827667.

Constitutional Club application causes local concern

Local residents are expressing concern over the application made by the Consitutional Club to develop the land currently occupied by garages into dwellings. The link to the application is shown below. If you have concerns, or if you support the application, please get in touch with Cllr Michael Green (details in side bar).

http://www.stalbans.gov.uk/environment-and-planning/planning/planning-applications/planning-applications-search.aspx

Wagamama seek to vary licence conditions

An application for increased hours and also increased restaurant space is available through the link below: let us know your views.

http://licensing.stalbans.gov.uk/MVM/Online/EGov/License_Registers/StdDetails.aspx?PT=&TYPE=LicenceRegistersFullDetailsPK&PARAM0=’WK/200918577’&PARAM1=0&XSLT=/mvm/SiteFiles/Skins/M3PP_Licensing_embed/xslt/Licensing/LicenceRegistersDetails.xsl&FT=Licence%20Details&LAYOUT=UE&DAURI=EGov

‘Shaping Our Community’ exhibitions

Shaping Our Community exhibitions

Planning Consultation – Emerging Core Strategy

Visit your local venue below to view the consultation or go online now at:
www.stalbans.gov.uk. The consultation closes on 28 Sep, 2009.

Tues, 1 Sep
1pm to 6pm
Colney Heath Village Hall
St Albans
AL4 OPS

Wed, 2 Sep
1pm to 6.30pm
Sandridge Village Hall
71 St Albans Rd
St Albans
AL4 9LH

Thurs, 3 Sep
1pm to 6.30pm
Wheathampstead Memorial Hall
Hewitt Room
Marford Rd
Herts
AL4 8AY

Fri, 4 Sep
1pm to 5pm
Harpenden Park Hall
Leyton Rd
AL5 2LX

Sat, 5 Sep
9.30am to 12noon
Harpenden Park Hall
Leyton Rd
AL5 2LX

Mon, 7 Sep
12noon to 7pm
Chiswell Green Greenwood Park Community Centre
Tippendell Lane,
Herts
AL2 3HW

Wed, 9 Sep
12noon to 7pm
Redbourn Village Hall
63 High Street
Herts

Thurs, 10 Sep
12noon to 7pm
London Colney Adventure World
Perham Way
Herts
AL2 1LB

Sat, 12 Sep
10am to 4pm
St Albans Central Library
The Maltings
AL1 3JQ

County Council backtrack over Worley Road assurances

The county council has again backtracked from publicly given assurances over road repairs.

Readers may recall that HCC attempted to renege on their promises on both Beaconsfield Road and Lemsford Road. After much lobbying I managed to get both schemes reinstated – although we are still to see whether Lemsford Road will actually happen.

They have now told us that they have no plans to resurface Worley Road – this was patched last year but the workmanship was so incompetent that councillors and residents were assured that it would be done properly this year.

Yet again Herts Highways has been shown up to be utterly unreliable.

A boards: are they bugging you?

Many local residents have complained about advertising boards outside shops. These are known as A boards and are often positioned in ways that obstruct the pavement.

The county and district councils are drawing up a policy on their use. Once this has been agreed enforcement will be carried out by the district council. There is a pilot running in Bishops Stortford which is about to be extended and the councils are working closely with them on drafting a policy for St Albans.