‘Butts Close, ten acres in extent, provides another delightful and restful public open space near the centre of town’ – from the Hitchin Official Guide in 1921/2. This was quoted in Scilla Douglas and Pauline Humphries book – Discovering Hitchin. They went on to say that it is the oldest open space in the town, used for games at the end of the 14th century, and also where archery was practised- hence its name, butts being the proper name for targets. In 1730 it was temporarily the site for the market, smallpox having made the crowded usual site an unhealthy place to be. Now it mostly attracts crowds when the funfair comes to town.

In our March newsletter local resident, Tony Riley, documented the resurrection of The Friends of Butts Close:

“John Jarvis, who sadly died a year ago this month, used to keep a careful eye on Council plans and on other developments that impinged upon Butts Close.  Hitchin Forum has convened a small group of members to take over this watching brief.  The ‘Friends of Butts Close’ are Stuart Howarth, John Keene, Helen Reason and Tony Riley.

Stuart has been digesting the voluminous documents and articles that were held by John Jarvis and by Hitchin Forum, and although he hasn’t found Henry VIII’s archery scorecard just yet, there is still time…

However, the more recent discussions and concerns include:

* creating a wildflower meadow – achieved

* getting a lifesaver ring by the pond – achieved

* the issue of tree replacement – a satisfactory outcome

* NHDC plans for extending the swimming pool car park – plans that are now, we think, in abeyance.

Hopefully the recent designation of Butts Close as a Conservation Area will help us to protect it.

We plan to use an occasional email newsletter to communicate.  We are asking residents local to Butts Close, members of Hitchin Forum, and others who are interested to sign up for this and get involved.  Tony will manage the account at buttsclose@gmail.com.

The Friends have produced newsletters which are available here -April newsletter and June newsletter

◊ hover cursor over pics to see caption

Hitchin Forum has worked with our companion community groups, Hitchin Society and Hitchin Historical Society, and also with Hitchin Initiative, to produce a contribution to the Local Plan that NHDC has to draft by the end of this year. The Local Plan should be a vision of how the district could develop over the next 20 years.

This jointly produced document is here – Planning Hitchin’s Future . We have obviously focussed on what would be good for Hitchin, what our local plan should be.

It has been distributed to all district councillors and was praised at the recent Hitchin Committee by the town’s councillors as reported in The Comet – click here.

Councillors felt that it would facilitate discussions between town’s people and our elected representatives, and also with the councillors in the rest of the district and the council’s officers.

We hope that that some of our suggestions will be translated into the main section of the Local Plan on general policies (types of housing, space standards) or in the specific Hitchin section (e.g. Hitchin town centre as an increasingly major attraction for day visits etc).

The council will be carrying out  some district-wide studies that will influence the Local Plan & we will be able to comment on the local implications of those later this year. Meanwhile we have a document that we are being encouraged to use to influence other work being carried out (e.g. on open space) and we have, through our joint report, identified a number of issues that will help to inform our response to future proposals  – and to initiate some positive action by ourselves to influence the future of the town.

Do read and comment – to planning@hitchinforum.org.uk.

The former Philpotts furniture store was the subject of a planning application – click here and insert the application number 13/00946/1 in the left hand box.

Hitchin Forum submitted the following objection -

To Planning Officer,  North Hertfordshire District Council  

23 May 2013

Dear Mr Gran

 Planning application Ref: 13/00946/1 -  10-11 Sun Street, Hitchin

Change of Use from Class A1 (Shops) to mixed Class A3 (Restaurant) and Class A4 (Drinking Establishment) Ground and First Floor

 We wish to object to this application for the following reasons:

These are very large premises and if granted permission, this change of use could have serious adverse consequences for the amenity of nearby residents, particularly in terms of noise and antisocial behaviour.  This is not something that can be adequately controlled through licensing, simply because of the huge impact such large premises will have on the locality.  With so many new residences in the town centre in recent years, far greater care has to be taken to protect their living environment, particularly given the pressures that can result from the night-time economy.  It should be noted that without any garden, patrons are likely to spill out onto the street, causing unacceptable levels of noise.  Further, there are no taxi ranks nearby to help clear customers at closing time.

Hitchin is fortunate in having a robust evening and night-time economy, with numerous restaurants and/or drinking establishments.  They are somewhat scattered throughout the town centre and its edges, and none is large enough to have a wider impact.  They tend to co-exist, through the considerable efforts of landlords, town centre rangers and the police, with only occasional problems.  What is proposed here is something far larger and likely to have a considerable impact over a much greater area.  There is a danger of Hitchin town centre reaching a ‘tipping point’ in terms of noise, antisocial behaviour and impact on local residents. 

If granted permission, this proposal could also cause problems in terms of servicing, which can only be on-street.  The large drinks vehicles and brewery drays which would be required could cause severe traffic disruption near the junction of two narrow historic streets.

We would like to see this unit return to active use rather than sit empty for months or years.  However, a far more appropriate use would be residential on the upper floors with the ground floor subdivided to make it attractive to more operators.

Given the scale and potential impact of this proposal, we trust it will not be determined under delegated powers as indicated on your website, but will be referred to the planning control committee. 

We ask that this application be refused planning permission.

Hitchin Forum Planning Group

]]> http://www.hitchinforum.org.uk/big-is-not-beautiful-in-sun-street/feed/ 0 http://www.hitchinforum.org.uk/big-hitchin-tidy-up-the-results/ http://www.hitchinforum.org.uk/big-hitchin-tidy-up-the-results/#comments Tue, 07 May 2013 16:31:05 +0000 admin2 http://www.hitchinforum.org.uk/?p=2542  

Hitchin Forum’s  campaign to rid Hitchin of litter before the summer is gaining momentum with more sites being suggested and more volunteers offering to help every day.

The Big Hitchin Tidy Up is in its second year  and is being organised for Sunday 5th May, 

We are covering a dozen sites around the town and have over 80 volunteers donning gloves and old clothes to clear up open spaces and footpaths in the town.  We hope even more people will contact us to join in.

Open spaces in the town that will be tackled include: Butts Close, Bancroft Recreation Ground and Ransom’s Recreation Ground. The river area along Grove Road from Ransom’s Rec to the crossroads with Woolgrove Road is also being cleared.

Footpaths and roadways include paths between Whitehill and Stevenage Roads, between Sunnyside and Maytrees, Redhill and Union Paths, Station Approach near First Steps day nursery, Park Street and verges along St Michael’s Road.

Neighbourhood areas include Park Gate and Bessemer Close.  A further group is tackling the boundaries of the cricket ground along Lucas Lane and Oughtonhead Lane on Monday.

Volunteers include not just local residents but organisations like the Friends of Butts Close, Hitchin Bridge Club, Friends of the Earth, the Triangle Community Garden and West Hitchin Action Group.  Parents and staff from Millennium First Steps Day Nursery are tackling the Station Approach area near to their nursery which every commuter knows is in a sorry state.

Our  biggest group is from the Priory School who are coming along with up to 20 pupils and 2 teachers.  They have put up posters in school, sent letters home, tutors have done form time sessions with the pupils and they have had an assembly on The Big Hitchin Tidy Up!  They will be tackling footpaths around Redhill Road so we hope to make a huge difference in that area.

The Comet has again provided wonderful support and information. We are absolutely delighted with the response we’ve had so far and are looking forward to a great day on Sunday!

The Big Hitchin Tidy Up takes place at most locations on Sunday morning 10am – 12 noon.  The big clean up at Oughtonhead Lane takes place on Monday morning, 10am – 12 noon.   For more information, or to volunteer to help with one of the areas, email us at litter@hitchinforum.org.

Ellie Clarke and Judith Gurney are co-ordinating the efforts on behalf of Hitchin Forum and if you would like to join in or would like more information, you can contact them on litter@hitchinforum.org.uk.

The project is the creation of a new District Museum as part of the refurbishment and extension of the current Hitchin Town Hall.

The addition of this property to the scheme that Hitchin Town Hall Ltd has been working on for the past several years will significantly improve the design of the whole complex. The Council decided to approve this, despite an officers’ report which seems to overemphasise the risks rather than the benefits. A Director of Hitchin Town Hall Ltd as well as a representative of Hitchin community groups spoke to the Council.

The Council report available to the public (only published last weekend) can be found by clicking here .

Hitchin Forum’s letter to the Council on February 1st 2013 stated -

Application Number:     12/02797/1LB  – Hitchin Town Hall, Brand Street
Creation of new entrance and alterations of existing steps to provide disabled access to Town Hall following demolition of 14 and 15 Brand Street. Extension of existing gymnasium and provision of link structure between the buildings on the site. Internal refurbishment of Grade II listed building to provide community and museum facilities.

Hitchin Forum would like to support this application for the following reasons.

This is a modification of the previous proposal, amending the entrance and central foyer area.  This is achieved by the demolition of both 14 and 15 Brand Street, resulting in a great architectural and visual improvement.

A small piazza at pavement level provides welcome space for external exhibitions or cafe space and access for all to a fully glazed wider entrance.  The larger foyer, which links the two existing buildings, has internal steps and a platform lift so wheel chair users are not separated from ambulant users.  The changes also mean the existing Town Hall entrance has a much simpler external ramp and stair access.

Other improvements include a larger local study area and additional museum storage, which frees up space at the rear of the Mountford Hall stage for community use.  The main advantage, however, derives from far better access to various areas from the improved foyer.

Externally, the Brand Street facade is much tidier with less extensive ramps/stairs and a modern entrance which complements both the Town Hall and no. 16 Brand Street.

We look forward to this application being speedily granted planning permission so this important community project can proceed without delay.

Hello, I’m currently carrying out a piece of work for North Herts Museums to help shape the new museum service. I’ve put together a fairly lengthy questionnaire and I’d be very grateful for any feedback, which could be sent to the  address below. If you would be interested in having a conversation about your ideas for the future, I’d be happy to talk to you too.

Any feedback will be used to help inform the final design and content, alongside other research into best practice and work being undertaken by museum staff and their North Herts District Council colleagues. I will be writing up the results soon so it would help if you can get your response to me by Friday 26 April.

Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to fill in the questionnaire, I’ll look forward to finding out what you think.

To see and download questionaire  click here -  Museum Questionaire

These can be returned to Jo Ward at Hitchin Museum, Paynes Park, Hitchin SG5 1EH.

She can also be contacted on

Email: jo.ward.ijks@gmail.com   Tel 01462 457 658  Mobile 07588 473 419

If there are errors, or other information you think would be useful, let us know on admin@hitchinforum.org.uk

Key   * red – paths * dark green – public green spaces * light green – no public access, eg school playing fields

The paths are, we believe, all public rights of way or permissive paths, but please let us know if this is not the case.

If the path is marked in brown its status is uncertain.

Click on spaces, paths or markers for more information and weblinks.

To print the map on the screen press Ctrl & P

The Hitchin Outer Orbital Path (HOOP), put together by the North Herts Ramblers Group – click here - is shown, with the parts of it

which go along town streets shown in purple.

HOOP joins with the excellent Greenway – created by Letchworth’s Heritage Foundation – from Purwell to Wilbury. The well built paths around Letchworth include a route from Purwell to wymondley Wood and Willian – all described in http://www.greenway.org.uk/

The Hicca Way, which follows the Hiz from Wellhead in Charlton to Arlesey also has its street route marked in purple, but elsewhere

along with other paths, in red. For the HICCA leaflet – click here and here.

Not all paths around Hitchin have been marked – this is a work in progress! But please let us know via admin@hitchinforum.org.uk if there are

additional paths, or more information, or even mistakes. All comments welcome.

North Herts Ramblers Group – click here  have many walks mapped online – here. They have jointly organized the Stevenage Walking Festival in June, which has some walks close to Hitchin – click here

A very special tour of the area is enshrined in the Purwell Valley blog, put together by Stuart Hutton -  click here. The overarching

idea of this is that Hitchin is at the centre of a number of springs – a circle, which are the outpourings of an artesian well, formed by the

combination of impermeable clay over chalk.

About Hitchin – a hand drawn map of Hitchin’s green spaces and paths

]]> http://www.hitchinforum.org.uk/green-spaces/feed/ 0 http://www.hitchinforum.org.uk/the-new-conurbation-an-artists-impression-2/ http://www.hitchinforum.org.uk/the-new-conurbation-an-artists-impression-2/#comments Mon, 01 Apr 2013 00:01:41 +0000 admin2 http://www.hitchinforum.org.uk/?p=2413 The recent Housing Options consultation has led to fevered fears of what the green and pleasant landscape between our local settlements

could look like.

A Consortium, formed on April 1st, has produced plans and commissioned an artist’s impression of how the landscape between

Hitchin and Stevenage might change. As can be seen, local residents have nothing to fear.

WE HAVE BEEN INFORMED THAT THE CONSORTIUM WAS LIQUIDATED ON APRIL 1ST DUE TO A TIDAL WAVE OF DISAPPROVAL. ANOTHER CLOSE SHAVE FOR HITCHIN!

The problem at this point in the process is that the decision is not one that district councils can make, it has to be made by the County Council.

And then…. it was discussed at a Special Meeting of the County Council Overview and Scrutiny Committee on March 21st. A briefing paper for the councillors was prepared by Kevin Ambrose – see below **. However, having expected that this would be a full discussion of such a speed limit policy, we were informed that the discussion would be about whether there should be such a discussion. A community groan could be felt (though not expressed, there was to be no ‘public’ participation).

But…. it got better. The outcome was that there would indeed be further discussions, but structured to be jointly held with the Highways and Transport Panel, hopefully during the Summer with a report available in the autumn. A two day meeting of the Scrutiny Committee to happen in the autumn was proposed and accepted.

During the discussion, in which local District Councillors Shakespeare-Smith (Hitchin), Michael Muir (Baldock), Fiona Hill (Royston) and Tony Hunter (Royston), all moonlighting as County Councillors, made good and thoughtful contributions. Points were made about the widespread support for such speed limits near schools, in residential areas and for health (as illustrated by Liverpool Primary Care Trust funding some of the direct costs of introducing the speed limit in that city).

The point was also made that the national trend for 20mph zones as advocated by 20’s Plenty is reaching the stage of widespread acceptability that detailed scrutiny in each new area is becoming unnecessary  – evidence from well established trials elsewhere provide convincing evidence of the benefits that all can enjoy.

There was some frustration that the process of introduction of such measures has taken so long, but central government advice has only recently changed to make such policies more possible. What was evident at county, as well as district level, was the all-party support. Congratulations to all parties on managing this!

So a sensible moderation of road behaviour seems possible, with benefits to all town and village dwellers a little closer.

  **Towards a standard limit of 20 mph in all residential areas of towns in Hertfordshire

– a briefing note

Considerations for a Hertfordshire County Council Scrutiny Committee study

This paper sets out some essential principles that we believe should be included in a scrutiny exercise.

Defects in the current Hertfordshire C.C. Speed Management Strategy

The policy for setting local speed limits in Hertfordshire set out in the Hertfordshire Speed Management Strategy – see http://www.hertsdirect.org/docs/pdf/s/17758216 . This document differs in a number of key respects from the recommendations set out in the latest Department for Transport guidance which is their circular 01/2013, issued in January this year. – see https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/setting-local-speed-limits

The two key differences are:

1.       The current DfT guidance recommends that 20mph limits are considered in roads where the average speed is 24mph or below, whereas the Herts SMS states that 20mph limits will not be considered unless the 85^th percentile speeds are at 24mph or below. This difference in qualification criteria means that even in some quiet residential roads which would comfortably meet the DfT requirement, the impact of just a few inconsiderate drivers can mean that the higher bar set by Herts CC’s SMS rules out a 20 limit.

2.       The current DfT guidance recommends that speed limits should be self enforcing, but recognises that the use of road signs is a legitimate self enforcement measure, as used in 20mph signed only speed limit schemes.  However the Herts CC SMS requires the use of physical highways engineering solutions which inevitably result in much more costly solutions. A typical 20mph zone scheme using traffic humps can cost around 10 times as much as an equivalent 20mph limits scheme which uses signs alone. This difference in requirements and the resulting higher cost means that far fewer zones are able to be introduced.

Further information on more than 30 towns and cities around the UK which have already introduced wide area 20mph speed limit schemes may be found on the 20’sPlenty campaign website, along with research data on the health, safety and environmental benefits of lower speeds particularly in residential areas:  http://www.20splentyforus.org.uk/

 Taking a holistic approach to road safety & traffic speed

We believe that the Scrutiny Committee should not just take a narrow highways focus to this important subject.  A study on traffic speed, road safety and the role 20 mph limits in residential areas should also have input from (as a minimum) services concerned with public health (traffic accidents and illnesses from lack of physical activity) , children  (particularly the fear of traffic in getting to schools), community safety (the need to overcome a fear of speeding traffic where people live) and sustainable transport (the need to encourage active travel on foot or by bicycle).

We believe that good highway planning and design plays an important part in making our roads safe, for all road users. However, experience elsewhere in the UK and on the continent makes it very clear that traffic engineering, or policing alone, is not sufficient in reducing collisions or in overcoming the public fear of speeding traffic (not least for children and older people). There is a danger of the “protecting my budget and passing the buck” syndrome – where the costs of inaction are shunted onto other agencies.

Effective speed management and casualty reduction strategies require the active involvement of a range of bodies – including the police and health – and especially with the whole community.  The recent successful introduction of bans on smoking in public places shows that where professions work together to demonstrate why such an initiative is in the public interest, people will support it. The smoking ban has required minimal enforcement by the police – but has already achieved significant health benefits and consequent savings to the NHS.

By contrast, the direct costs the casualties of road traffic incidents plus the huge indirect costs of unhealthy dependence on the car rather than walking or cycling (obesity, heart disease, etc.) has major implications for public health. Pioneering work in Liverpool last year resulted in the local NHS Primary Care Trust agreeing to meet 40% of the costs of rolling out a 20 mph speed limit on all its non-major roads.

But the argument for a lower speed limit where people live is not just about reducing casualties (important though that is). It is about civilising our public spaces so that everyone, pedestrian, cyclist and motorist, young and old, fit or disabled, can feel safe whilst moving around. An effective speed strategy should be based on promoting community safety – of removing people’s fear of traffic – and of promoting a sense of shared ownership of public spaces. Of course, the more people we have on our streets – whether walking, cycling or driving – the better the chances of reducing crime and increasing community cohesion.

Learning from experience elsewhere

In Hertfordshire we do not yet have any town-wide 20 mph schemes upon which to base our judgements. Fortunately there is a rapidly growing body of experience of such schemes in cities and towns elsewhere in the country (Portsmouth, Bristol, Liverpool etc.) coupled with a considerable amount of academic and professional analysis of their effectiveness. A Scrutiny Study could usefully investigate these further.

Also worth examining is the attitude of people who live in the towns with a uniform 20 mph limit on non-major roads. A number of post implementation resident attitude surveys have been undertaken (e.g. in Bristol).

There are some useful precedents for such feasibility studies. We have recently seen an excellent one produced by an inter-departmental team at Manchester City Council following that council’s approval in principle of a city-wide 20 mph scheme on non-major roads without relying just on speed humps etc. We would be happy to share our growing library of case studies and research reports with those charged with producing the feasibility study.

Background

North Hertfordshire

In September 2012, the Hitchin Committee of North Herts District Council passed an all party motion in favour of a town-wide 20 mph scheme for all residential areas in Hitchin.

In December 2012, the North Herts DC Scrutiny Committee agreed, with all party support, to press for a joint scrutiny with the county council and other district councils of the issue of 20 mph speed limits in residential areas, involving other key stakeholders including the police and public health input.

Watford

On 21^st March 2012, at its full council meeting, Watford Borough Council unanimously resolved “that the Mayor should request that Hertfordshire County Council should investigate the feasibility of implementing a 20 mph limit on all residential roads in Watford, excluding major routes, as appropriate. ”

The Borough Council noted that “research from UK and abroad that has shown town or city-wide urban speed limits around 20mph have:

• significantly reduced speeds in just the first year of operation; after several years in operation reduced urban accident rates by up to two-thirds (with numbers killed and seriously injured reduced by even more);
• encouraged walking and cycling, especially for the elderly and younger children;
• benefited communities, with residents a quarter more likely to stop and talk on footpaths;
• increased the journey time of a 15 minute journey by just 1 minute;
• reduced vehicle emissions by 12% due to less acceleration and deceleration;
• and been supported by 72% of drivers surveyed as part of the British Social Attitudes Survey conducted for the Department for Transport in 2010

and  that the implementation of a town-wide speed limit of 20mph on all non-major residential roads, combined with a public information campaign would have an immediate beneficial impact on accidents and fatalities in Watford“.

For the 20s Plenty campaign in Hertfordshire

• Kevin Ambrose BA, DipTP, MRTPI, MCILT (Member , Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport) , 20s Plenty for Watford
• Councillor Peter Jeffree, Watford Borough Councillor
• Councillor Lisa Courts, North Herts District Councillor

20s Plenty for Watford is an umbrella group representing a range of residents’ associations and community groups in Watford

20s Plenty for Hitchin is the group pressing for 20 mph in Hitchin.