NHDC Waste Collection
David Percival in last month’s Parish News commented: “contracted refuse collectors routinely dump emptied wheelie bins at random on pavements all around our village”. I contacted the officer at NHDC responsible for the waste and recycling contract with Veolia and this is what she wrote about the contract:
“The operatives should be placing any bins or boxes back where they came from. They, in particular, should not be leaving them obstructing driveways or footpaths unnecessarily. Windy days can be a problem generally however if they are returned to the boundary of a property they are often next to a wall or hedge which helps prevent this problem.
We do have Waste Services Officers out monitoring the contract, so I have copied [the relevant officer] in who will be about to check some of the streets in Knebworth over the next few collections.
It is clear that the Veolia operatives are not perfect, but hopefully this reminder will provoke an improvement in the service. If residents notice any problems they can contact the NHDC helpdesk on 0800 328 6023 who will monitor the level of complaints from Knebworth. Alternatively feel free to contact me about this directly.
North Hertfordshire Local Plan
NHDC is due to vote on moving to the next stage in the production of the Local Plan at its meeting on 27th November. This will approve the Local Development Scheme which sets out the timetable for consultation, but will include the publication of the “Preferred Options”, i.e. sites which the council have put forward as suitable for development. Consultation on this document, as well as on the numerous planning policies that together with the sites form the Plan, will take place from early December through to the first week of February (these are provisional dates and are still to be confirmed). Full information about the proposals will be available in the Library and on the NHDC website.
Planning Matters - Update
Solar Farm PV Applications: The Swangley’s Lane application was due to be discussed by NHDC Planning Control at its committee meeting on 13th November but the NHDC officer wrote to advise me that it had been withdrawn from the agenda as the applicant had written to the planning officers “setting out additional proposals to mitigate the impact of the scheme on the surrounding landscape and to address the concerns regarding the impact of the development on the Green Belt.”. There will now be further public consultation and NHDC expect it to be discussed at the planning meeting on 18th December. Consideration of the Three Houses Lane solar farm has been delayed because of errors in the application and no date is yet scheduled for it to come before the planning committee.
Knebworth Park Cricket Club: Consideration of this application was deferred by NHDC planning because of late submission of a revised design of the pavilion and of a Flood Risk Assessment and drainage plans. It is expected that the application will be reconsidered at the NHDC Planning Control committee meeting on 18th December.
111 London Road: Following our objections, the developer provided a revised application with extra parking spaces and a contribution to affordable housing in the NHDC area and the committee has now accepted it.
Comments !