West Herts Liberal Democrats - Working for Hertfordshire, for Britain and for You!

On the third Tuesday of each month we have our Supper Club here in Berkhamsted.

We discuss politics and anything else we choose to talk about.

It gives us the chance to get to know each other and to put the world to rights.

We welcome all Lib Dem members - and anyone of a similar mindset - who would like to join us.

Last March, Councillors were concerned by the figures in a presentation on Under-18 Mental Health Hospital Admissions. The figures for Children and Young People where mental health issues were a primary cause, showed a statistically significant rise between 2015/16 and projections for 2017/18.

Moreover, there was a steady rise in inappropriate admissions to acute hospitals - as distinct from specialist mental health hospitals where more appropriate care and treatment are available.

At the County Council meeting on 27 November, Sopwell Residents Association (St Albans) brought a petition signed by more than 1,000 residents, against the closure of the right of way across Cottonmill Railway Crossing.

The crossing predates the construction of the railway and continues to be a vital link for local residents to access schools, shops and businesses. It also forms part of a 'Green Ring' route around the centre of St Albans, used by thousands of cyclists and walkers each day. Should the closure take place it would in fact cut the Sopwell community in two. Pedestrians and other users would be forced to use alternative and less safe routes in order to reach their destinations. Residents currently avoid using Cottonmill Lane because it is a fast road with limited pedestrian walkways. It would also add 30-40 minutes to journeys and inevitably put more cars on the road.

With everything that's going on at the moment - the Three Rivers Rural County Council By Election, Brexits, marches and regular campaigning, the Tring, Berkhamsted & Northchurch Branch Liberal Democrats decided to hold their AGM relatively early this year.

Despite competing with so many other activities, social as well as political there was a reasonable attendance at the Sacred Heart RC Church Hall in Park Street, Berkhamsted on Thursday 4th October in the evening.

There was no guest speaker but representatives of the different council gave short reports and each answered a numerous questions from an interested and lively audience.

It has in truth been a dreadful year in the garden, both for vegetables and flowers.

Not that Nick does flowers - "too girly!" Nor does he do lettuce - "real men don't grow salad!"

But despite these prejudices, there's still plenty of scope.

And it wasn't a bad year for everything - greenhouse-grown tomatoes for one thing.

So a strategic choice, with an eye to the competition, resulted in a "Best in Show" in the 2018 Wigginton Flower and Produce Show held in the Village Hall on September 8th.

And to compound the embarassment for undeserved recognition, he was awarded the Edmunds Cup for best all round performance.

Construction work began on the confusingly named "Luton DART" this May. "DART" stands for Direct Air-Rail Transit but also refers to the Dublin Area Rapid Transit rail route from Bray to Malahide and Howth through Dublin - a line that is well familiar to Luton's 20,000 Irish residents (over 6% of the population).

The 2.1 km route will run from the new Bartlett Square development adjacent to the existing rail station to the Luton Airport Terminal with a journey time which will be "less than four minutes".

The transport link will run 24 hours a day and and will be a fully automated double shuttle sytem driven by cable. It will be supplied by Doppelmayr Cable Car, part of the Austro-Swiss Group, Doppelmayr Garaventa, based in Wolfurt, Vorarlberg. Doppelmayr Cable Car already have a similar air-rail link operating at Birmingham International Airport. The civil engineering is being carried out by a joint venture firm, Volker Fitzpatrick Kier.

September's Liberal Democrat conference in Brighton was a great success.

And as well as being one of the best attended Lib Dem conferences ever, it reaffirmed the Party's commitment to Green Policies and Environmental protection.

This is a summary of the Lib Dem's existing policy highlights.

They featured among the Party's 2017 election manifesto commitments:

The Three Rivers Rural Division resulted from boundary changes and an additional county division that was added in 2017 in response to Hertfordshire's growing population. In the 2017 county council elections, which were overshadowed by Theresa May's snap election call, the Conservative who held the former Chorleywood Division won the new division but with a majority of only 153 votes.

However the Conservative Councillor who is also a City of London councillor recently resigned from Hertfordshire County Council to concentrate on his London responsibilities, thus causing the by-election that was held on October 25th, 2018.

Observant passengers into Euston will already have noticed the demolition of a couple of sheds and depot on the west side of the station. Now it has been announced that Platforms 17 and 18 will be taken out of use after the May 2019 timetable changes.

This is to enable HS2 and Crossrail work to proceed. Platform 18 will be removed completly but Platform 17 will be converted into a siding for trains delivering construction materials.