West Hertfordshire Liberal Democrats

"The Conservatives are failing to protect nature", Sarah Olney MP

The Liberal Democrats HAVE proposed changes to the Environment Bill to protect green spaces and wildlife.

The Conservatives' Environment Bill will fail to protect British nature and our beautiful landscapes.

We are already living in one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. Our waterways are in a poor condition with just 14% in good condition. More than 40% of native species are in decline.

The 7-mile Wendover Arm Canal which feeds into the Grand Union Canal at Bulbourne, near Tring was originally constructed in 1799. It had the dual purpose of bringing water from springs near Wendover to feed the main canal system between London and the Midlands, as well as providing a transport connection to Tring and to Wendover.

As such, at various times, it carried coal to three gas works, sent straw to London and received horse manure from London to improve the productivity of the local agriculture. It also brought wheat and other cereals to Heygates Flour Mills at New Mill in Tring and took away the resulting flour. Nearby there was a boat repair business which became Bushells Brothers boatbuilding business in 1875 and which operated until 1952.

Unfortunately the stretch of the canal arm closest to Wendover developed leaks continuously and no satisfactory solution could be found, leading to the stoppage of navigation at Little Tring in 1904 and for several miles a pipe was laid beneath the canal bed to enable the crucial flow of water to continue replenishing the reservoirs that are essential to the national system.

However, the Wendover Arm Trust (WAT) was formed in February 1989 as a voluntary body to promote the restoration of the Wendover Canal. Then, nearly 25 years later, the Canal and Rivers Trust/Glândwr Cymru (CaRT) was established on 12th July, 2012, and all British Waterways' assets, liabilities and responsibilities in England and Wales were transferred to them. At the same time, CaRT took over the Waterways Trust, a pre-existing charity previously affiliated to British Waterways with similar aims to CaRT.

"Dacorum Borough and Herts County both need to work together to solve blocked drain problems," says Lib Dem Councillor, Nick Hollinghurst who represents Tring West & Rural on DBC.

He explains, "District and Borough Councils both have a shared responsibility to keep the highway and the gutters free from loose debris, grit, mud and litter.

"The County Council has responsibility to keep the highway well drained and clear from flooding.

"However under every drain is a large gulley or silt trap - and if the gutters and the highway are not kept clear, then silt, mud and litter will either block the top of the drain or get washed down and trapped in the gulleys.

"This quickly fills up and then they are blocked, the outflow pipework is also blocked and the blockage then hardens.

"Once this has happened, the gulleys have to be expensively dug out by hand.

"Both authorities need to do their jobs to keep the drains free and the highways clear.

"In particular Dacorum Borough Council needs to do better in keeping roadways outside Hemel Hempstead clear!

"Although large brush sweeping machines are deployed across Hemel hempstead and seem to do a good job there, in rural areas and in the market towns older, smaller machines are failing to do the job.

"The picture shows an extensive bank of gravel and silt at the A41 roundabout to the east of Tring - a spot known for a long time as a site where drains frequently block and rain water floods right across the A4251. The drain is barely visible.

"The second picture shows the drain has been dug out, but the county sub-contractors who did that, just left the gravel and silt still heaped in the gutters waiting to washed in at the next thunderstorm - to fill the gulley and block the drain all over again!

"County sub-contractors should be given instructions to completely remedy such situations by removing all adjacent gravel, and Dacorum Borough Council should keep all gutters in Tring and Berkhamsted well swept and clear - and both councils should co-operate with each other to get the work done properly!"

"The other day, I spent some time meeting with a wonderful group of unpaid carers", Ed Davey - Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Jun 11, 2021

"People looking after their loved ones too often feel forgotten," said Ed.

"The other day, I spent some time meeting with a wonderful group of unpaid carers.

"We had been brought together by Carers UK and a number of other carers' organisations as part of Carers Week, so they could share their experiences directly with me and we could discuss what changes might make their lives better.

As a former Herts county councillor, Nick Hollinghurst, was interested in the recent report on potholes in the Hemel Hempstead Gazette - a never ending problem it seems.

There is, of course, one simple action we can all take to motivate the County Council to repair potholes faster - and that is to use the online HCC Highway Fault Reporting System!

The County Council has an inspection rota for roads, according to their importance and use - every 3months, every 6 months or annually. As long as they work their rota and stick to their schedule, then they have a statutory defence in law against negligence - and your claim for damages caused by road defects will automatically fail.

Unless… unless the pothole or other highway defect is serious, i.e. more than 50mm deep, and it has been reported.

In this case the County Council is expected to take action within a "reasonable time", which is taken to be a working week. To be fair to HCC they try to take action within 24 hours of the reported serious defect being reported, though sometimes the "action" can just be putting out a warning cone or two.

But the point is this. If we all report the defects, this will increase the pressure to get the problems sorted out.

If you don't report them then you are relying on HCC to work its way round its inspection rota and a possibly serious hazard may be putting road users at risk for longer than is necessary. You or someone else may then suffer damage or injury.

So go to https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk and you should find the "Report a road or pavement fault" box on the right hand side of the screen. Follow the menu and report the fault.

Don't leave it to others and don't leave it to chance.

This is a Chance to Apply for Training and Approval as a Candidate in Dacorum Borough or Three Rivers District Elections

This is an invitation to members to come forward with a view towards becoming local council candidates. Any paid-up member living anywhere in Dacorum can qualify to stand in that Borough, or living anywhere in Three Rivers can qualify to stand in that District. Obviously we can all benefit from training and this can be provided for potential candidates if they need and wish to take advantage of that.

Becoming a candidate is a two-step process. First and fundamentally you need to be approved by an Approvals Panel of usually 3 or 4 people, which will take the form of an interview. Secondly you also need to be selected as the Candidate if two or more Approved Persons apply to stand in a particular ward. The selection is decided by a vote among the members in the local area and the selected person is then appointed as the candidate.

It is greatly to everyone's advantage if we can build up a pool of Approved Persons as early as possible from amongst whom candidates can later be selected and appointed. This gives people the opportunity to build up expertise by doing casework for, and lobbying on behalf of, local people as well as learning about the way local government works.

This makes selection easier and enables us to field candidates who have built up a track record of community action and who can contribute effectively to the election campaign from the start.

Standing for a council seat gives people a chance to become part of the formal local decision-making and thus be more effective in representing Liberal Democrat values, building a foundation for subsequent parliamentary campaigns, representing the individuals in their ward and making an effective contribution to the life of the local community.

• A. the compulsory government housing targets for councils and
• B. the Planning Act 2021.