On Wednesday, Liberal Democrat Secretary for State for Communities and Local Government, Stephen Williams, agreed to a crucial land swap that will finally allow the Watford Health Campus to proceed.
The local Fire Service has now settled into the new duty system which provides the same 24hr emergency cover but with considerable cost saving. The fire fighters now work 12hr active duty, 8.00am - 8.00pm, and are then on call for the next 12hrs from the new building on site. During active working hours they carry out practical and technical training, community fire safety and equipment maintenance. During their on call hours their time is their own.
Network Rail is undertaking an £81m scheme to tackle the most common causes of delay to rail services. However, while this work is underway 8 miles of track through Watford will have to be blocked.
The Urban Transport Plan is designed to encourage a shift away from cars for commuters using Tring Station. Due to the distance from the town centre it is vital that the station caters for cyclists and currently has just 125 places available. Plans would increase the number of places available to 237 for the future as well as improve access for cyclists.
Extensive consultations, which involved exhibitions for public inspection in both Tring and Berkhamsted, took place last spring. Since then Hertfordshire highways planning officers have been updating the Tring, Northchurch & Berkhamsted Urban Transport Plan to take into account comments from the public.
At the end of last month Liberal Democrat County Councillors forced the Conservative administration of Hertfordshire County Council to accept that after one full year of operation "the new and revised highways term contracts as well as the Call Centre are not fully functioning and are not working to best effect for the residents of Hertfordshire and there are still a number of important issues that require resolving".
Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander has published the Coalition Government's National Infrastructure Plan - a plan for more than £375bn of public and private sector investment in energy, transport, flood defence, waste, water and communications infrastructure up to 2030 and beyond.
A series of public meetings to explore the future shape of library services are being held across Hertfordshire.
Hertfordshire County Council Liberal Democrats are amazed by the massive security bills they have uncovered at County Hall. In the period since 1st April 2010 HCC has run up a staggering £1.5 million bill to secure vacant property sites, including those awaiting demolition and sale. Council Tax payers have footed the huge bill while HCC has spent years dithering about what to do with empty premises.
Around 92,000 of the most disadvantaged two-year-olds are now receiving up to 15 hours a week of free childcare, just weeks after free pre-school education was introduced.
A leading Conservative county councillor has defended an investment of more than £20 million of public money into a tobacco company at the same time as the county council launches a Hertfordshire-wide anti-smoking campaign.
