ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the Hertford Civic Society will be held on Wednesday April 11th at 8.00pm in the Hall of the Church of the Immaculate Conception and St Joseph, St John’s Street, Hertford.

AGENDA

1. Minutes of the AGM held on April 6th 2011
2. Report of the Committee for 2011
3. Hon Treasurer’s Report and Accounts
4. Election of Officers
5. Election of Members of the Committee
6. Any Other Business

The current Officers and Committee are listed in the Spring Newsletter. All retire annually. The Constitution provides for there to be up to 16 Committee Members in addition to four Officers.

Nominations for election of Officers and Members of the Committee should be made in writing to the Chairman, Linda Haysey, supported by a seconder and with the written consent of the nominee.

Nominations for election as an Officer must be made at least seven days before the Meeting, but nominations for election of Members of the Committee will be accepted at the Meeting.

Refreshments will be served after the business has been concluded.

PLANNING MATTERS - Former Old Cross Library

An application was made by a firm of interior designers to change the use of the building from D1 (non-residential institutions) to B1 Business (a) Office. The design firm, who plan to re-locate from Enfield, have indicated that they intend to leave the external appearance of the former library unchanged. We felt that the proposal would enable a familiar and valued building to go on contributing to the Hertford townscape, and again no comment was made.

PLANNING MATTERS - Baker Street Car Park

Fourteen bedsits for vulnerable young people are proposed, together with associated offices and training facilities. Although the appearance of the new building could be improved, and some public parking will be lost, the scheme will make good use of a neglected and under-used site near the town centre. No comments were submitted to the Council.

PLANNING MATTERS - Waterford Hamel

This is the name given by the developers, Lafarge, to a proposal for 11 houses on the site of some workshops in Sacombe Road associated with the former gravel workings at Waterford Heath. The architect has incorporated state-of-the-art techniques for meeting The Code for Sustainable Homes Level 6 (Zero carbon), and the houses have associated allotments to provide an element of self sufficiency. It is claimed that this scheme would be a model for development elsewhere, as it would be the first in the country to pull together all the means of meeting the future housing standards necessary to achieve planned CO2 reductions. However, the land is in the Green Belt. The applicant accepts that under current guidance the proposal is inappropriate in such a location, but argues that because of its unique design features, and because the present unattractive old buildings would be removed, the circumstances are so special that approval should be granted.

We submitted an objection on the grounds that a Green Belt location is not necessary for this trial of building techniques, which could be conducted anywhere and would probably be more meaningful in an urban setting. We also suggested that, whilst certain structures have to be accepted in support of mineral extraction in the Green Belt, that is not a good argument for their replacement, once the mineral workings are exhausted, by new permanent buildings. We asked that if the District Council nevertheless decide to grant permission, they should require Lafarge to sign a binding legal agreement precluding residential development on any of their other land at Waterford. We are concerned that permission on this site might otherwise be the 'thin end of the wedge'.