May Update from your Parish Council

Highways and Byways

Dragons teeth road markings should now be in place at the entry points to the village.

Coombe road is marked for a closure between 5^th and 8^th May.

Honeypot Hill is planned for closure between June 16^th -18^th .  It looks like Reed End will only be accessible from the A10 direction.

We’ve been informed by Steve Jarvis, our local county councillor, that Rooks Nest Lane from Whiteley Lane to Hay Green is planned to be surface dressed this year (which will include patching any potholes).  However, there are no plans to do any resurfacing work on New Road or Kelshall Tops in the current year’s maintenance programme.  There may be some scope for patching work.

Unfortunately the Highways agency have reached the conclusion that it is not practical to construct a staggered gateway at Hay Green whilst meeting the conservators requirement that it should be possible to walk along the verge.  This is a disappointment.

Play Ground:

We are delighted to tell you that a local trust has provided a very generous donation towards the playground update.  This will be a great help to revamp the more expensive items.

Some necessary maintenance of the smaller items (ropes, posts, ground work) has now been performed.  The roundabout fault has been investigated and we await a quote for the elements that need replacing.  A new picnic bench will be installed shortly.

The “No Dogs” sign in the playground has been broken up and thrown over the hedge.  It should be fairly obvious why dogs are not permitted inside the playground.  Please respect the signage  -it is placed there for you and your children’s health and safety.

Planning:

Nothing to report

Council

The next Parish council meeting is on the 12th May at the Chapel. The agenda and minutes will be available on the website and noticeboards.

We still have vacancies for two councillors so if you are interested in getting involved in the management of the village then please come and talk to us or email clerk@therfieldparishcouncil.gov.uk

Last month we planned on holding the Annual Parish Meeting in Fordham Hall on the 16^th May.  However, this is now clashing with the Kelshall festival and I expect most people would prefer a party to local government. We will re-arrange the date.

This is NOT a formal council meeting but is an opportunity for electors to have a say on anything they consider valuable to the people of the Parish.  We can also invite local organisations to let you know what has been going on over the past year.

Please contact us if you would like a place on the agenda.

Biodiversity:

May is a crucial month for flowering plants that need to get a firm foothold in order to

thrive. To this end the request is to follow “No Mow May” in your garden and let wildflowers grow freely, establish themselves and help the bees and other pollinators to flourish.

Please see last May’s newsletter, to our parish website, or directly to the Plantlife website at https://www.plantlife.org.uk/campaigns/your-no-mow-may-lawn-guide/

It’s almost a year since we had the talk on swifts from the Hertford Swift Group followed by swift box installations around the villages.  Here’s hoping that we can get some of these occupied this summer.

Communication

The council uses the google group called the “hub” for sending out important information as well as using the official website.

If you are not currently subscribed to the hub, then we recommend that you sign up.  To do so, send an email to hub@therfieldparishcouncil.gov.uk to be added to the list.  The links can also be found on the parish website.

Our operational site is www.therfieldparishcouncil.gov.uk .  

Please consult this site for information on meetings, notices etc.

Do you lose track of which bin is collected when?  There is a phone app which is very useful, just search for “North Herts” in your favourite app store.  It gives useful recycling information, waste collection days, and links to other services.

David Wealthy

Chair – Therfield Parish Council