The Station Pub is up for sale. The Parish Council is trying to raise funds to buy it for the community. See their article in this edition for more details. By the time you read this I hope that the pub will have been registered as an asset of community value at NHDC, which will give bidders time to raise funds. Technology has now multiplied the ways in which a large group of individuals can come together to finance a new venture. It will be difficult to raise the necessary funds, and to manage the business but as the only pub within walking distance of most of the residents of Knebworth I believe it is worth saving. North Herts District is home to the very first community owned pub in the country: the Red Lion at Preston, which continues to thrive thirty six years after being purchased by the community.

The second of March is the date of the last meeting of the Southern Rural Committee for this Civic Year. This is the meeting where we are inclined to be most generous, as we like to spend our whole budget by the end of the year. To find out more, contact me, or Stuart Izzard, the Community Support Officer at NHDC for more details. Stuart can not only explain how best to go about applying for a grant from NHDC, but also advise on which other grant awarding bodies might be prepared to contribute. This applies to local community groups, sports clubs, choirs, charities etc. Groups which are specific to Knebworth may also apply to the Knebworth Village Trust.

NHDC have vacancies in the Committee and Member Services, and the Housing and Homelessness teams. These are announced on the NHDC Twitter stream, so if you are looking for a job this is the place to look. They are also looking for an apprentice in Human Resources. All positions are in Letchworth. There are a number of personnel changes happening at the Council because of the programme of voluntary redundancies it has in place.

The NHDC Green Space Strategy has just been published. It is proposed to convert a number of play areas in the District back to green spaces because of the costs of maintaining and performing safety checks on the equipment. This does not affect Knebworth as all play equipment is paid for and maintained by the Parish Council using they money raised as a separate precept. Urban areas of the District are not ‘parished’ and all funds for upkeep of recreation grounds and play equipment comes out of the NHDC element of Council Tax, which is levied equally throughout the District.

The planning application for development of the Hamilton Billiards site was refused at the December meeting of the Planning Control Committee. The Chairman of the Parish Council, Roger Willcocks, and I spoke against the application. There were various grounds on which it was refused, with the fact that it is out of character with the surrounding buildings and having too little parking being two of the most important ones. A revised application is likely to be submitted, or, possibly, the applicant will appeal against the decision.

A submission has been made as part of the Welwyn Hatfield Local Plan submission arguing that the the site to the south of Gun Meadow Avenue and the north of Monread Lodge should not have been excluded from the plan. If the Planning Inspector accepts the submission and proposes an amendment to this plan to include this site, there will be an impact on Knebworth. The submission can be downloaded from the Welwyn Hatfield Local Plan Consultation website.

With the GP surgery moving to St Martin’s Road the defibrillator on the wall of the GP surgery will be moving too. Fortunately, Knebworth Park Football Club have been provided with funds for a defibrillator, and associated costs. I will support it being fixed to the pavillion in the main recreation ground. These devices do save lives in a practical and direct way.