Bovingdon.net

Below is a letter received from County Councillor Richard Roberts

Dear all,

Yesterday I met with Highways officers to discuss the arrangements for the installation of the gizmo’s that will allow street lights to be turned off from midnight through to six in the morning. (12:00 midnight -6:00am.)

 This programme is rolling out across the County and is about half way through. The anticipation is that by shutting off approximately 70% of all street lights after midnight there will be energy savings of at least £1million/year. This has been agreed by Hertfordshire County Council’s cabinet and is one of the savings strands that will contribute to reducing our budget by £200m over the next 4 years.

 There are no lights in Chipperfield or Flaunden or the rural patches outside of the villages but there are approximately 1000 lights across the Kings Langley ward. The main concentrations are in Kings Langley, Bovingdon, Felden, Bourne End and along the A4251(old A41)

Important points

 All lights on public roads and paths are marked on a map and have been risk assessed by Highways (road safety) and the Police (crime).

 No lights on the A4251 are being turned off.(main road through Kings Langley and Bourne End)

No lights that illuminate traffic calming (exclusively Kings Langley) are being turned off

No lights at roundabouts are being turned off

The lights under the station tunnel are not being turned off, Hemel Station is privately lit.

 Residential lighting will be turned off at 12:00 midnight until 6:00am with the above exemptions applying.

 I have not put forward any additional exemptions.

 The police are right behind this scheme and evidence from across the country where this has already been carried out show no increases in crime.

 Longer, straighter roads will be done first simply to get economies of scale, before smaller side streets.

 There is a high degree of caution built into the road safety aspect of the “A” road hence why the lights are staying on. Contrast this with the A41 Bypass where there are no lights at all.  Councillor Stuart Pile was telling me that unlit motorways have up to 10% reduction in speed compared with lit ones.

 It is likely that the work in Dacorum will commence with us in the Kings Langley ward at the beginning of February.

 I would be grateful if you could forward this information as widely as possible.

 Richard Roberts

 Hertfordshire County Councillor for the Kings Langley division.

Executive member for children’s services

Details of the history of the Airfield:- “Airfield Focus 80: Bovingdon”. Published by GMS Enterorises, 67 Pyhill, Bretton, Peterborough, PE3 8QQ. Tel 01733 265123. E-mail:- gmsimons@btconnect.com

The Parish Council has decided to supplement the Bovingdon News with the Bovingdon Bulletin, which is an A4 paper bulletin and will be issued 3 or 4 times a year when there is an item of particular interest.  Villagers are able to pick up a copy from the local shops.  Talk Talk have kindly agreed to sponsor the first issue. 

Click the link below to see the first Bovingdon Bulletin

Bulletin 1[1]

Friday 18^th November saw the end of Save a Space for Me; a month long online campaign to support outdoor spaces nominated to be safeguarded as part of the Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge. Over 20,000 people from councillors, members of the public and sports leaders showed their support for fields and parks with over 10,000 web visits recorded on the day of launch alone. In Dacorum, Bovingdon Green (170 votes) and Gadebridge Park  (138 votes) came out top in the vote.  Four other sites put forward by Dacorum Borough Council to be considered by the public were Canal Fields, Margaret Lloyd Park, Northridge Park, and Randalls Park.

Led by charity Fields in Trust and supported  by Asda, Save a Space for Me was the public’s chance to have a say in creating a local legacy from the 2012 Olympic Games and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. HRH The Duke of Cambridge, Patron of the Challenge, lent his voice to the campaign urging people to support their local sites to ensure vital outdoor recreational spaces are protected for future generations.

Alison Moore-Gwyn, Chief Executive of Fields in Trust said: “We’re absolutely delighted that thousands of people took the time to say ‘Save a Space for Me’. The passion Dacorum people have shown for their local parks is exactly the community spirit that is so vital to the Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge. Support from our partners Asda has been important in helping us get out there and let people know about the chance to vote for their local spaces.  We’ve had hundreds of postal votes as well, from people determined not to let lack of internet access stop them from showing their support for their local fields”.

Thank you to everyone who voted for Bovingdon Green.

An application has been put forward that will result in greater use of Bovingdon Airfield for light planes and microlights.  Anyone wishing to have further information should refer to the Dacorum Borough Council website:-

• Click on Planning & Development
• Search Planning Applications
• Application Number -  4/01377/11/LDE