Hot issues
AUTUMN 2009
1 TescoPlan. No new store application to date. Could Tesco be getting cold feet, or is it just a lull caused by the credit crunch? The City Vision and the Local Development Framework document highlight how the London Road site is not regarded as being in the city centre, as Tesco would like us to believe. Much better to use this space for housing or a much-needed new primary school. Work on restoring some of their neglected properties is long overdue. More information: www.stoptesco.com
2 Railfreight Terminal. See main menu and www.strife.biz
3 Verulamium Park. Discussions continue on how to process improvements in the Park following rejection of the Heritage Lottery Bid. The Society remains wary over some recent actions and proposals. We do not wish to see the area over-engineered and illuminated, with some of the wildlife being treated as intruders in what is, after all, their home which we should share with them. The difficult subject of cycle paths seems to be rising up the agenda. How these would actually work safely, especially between King Harry Lane and the Fighting Cocks bridge , remains unclear.
4 Odeon. No significant developments, except the serving by the Council of a Section 215 Notice on Wattsdown, the owners. This has resulted in the modest whitewashing of the façade, which has certainly improved the look of the building, and demonstrates just how good this iconic Art Deco cinema could appear. A local school student has initiated a campaign to help move things along. This is a welcome boost to past and present efforts. Negotiations over the sale of the building are understood to be in a delicate position – to the point that there is a news blackout.
5 Council Conservation & Design Department. Cuts have gone ahead, much to our concern. This is a retrograde step, particularly in view of the recent report from English Heritage on Conservation Areas at Risk, which included St Albans. See www. ????? We find this unbelievably frustrating, given that our Council is currently extolling the importance of heritage, conservation and design in the LDF consultation document. We continue to make representations about the impact of these cutbacks.
6 Town Hall. The Merchant Tea & Coffee Company went into administration, and the existing franchisee has taken over the café premises as an independent business. Sadly, this has not meant any alteration to the previous unfortunate fitments. STARTS www remains upstairs.
7 Oaklands FE College. The Hub & Spoke scheme has stalled because of lack of government funding. Appeals over the College’s Smallford Campus and Highfield sites involving Green Belt development, ie the Sweetheart Inquiry, have ironically been given approval. So we have an impasse.
8 City Vision. See main menu.
9 Cinema. The contract between Henry Davidson and the Council is over. We continue to support the concept of cinema for all in St Albans. A Council-backed cinema scheme is part of the City Vision, and we must not forget that there is still the Odeon option staring us in the face.
10 Hertfordshire House / Police Station. The latest planning application from Antringham Developments was refused in July. There could be an Appeal, but we trust the developer will see that any proposal now needs to be part of the City Vision project. The Society participated in the debate to place Tree Preservation Orders on the five mature trees on the site, and we were delighted when the Orders were confirmed – but it was a close call. It seems some of our councillors still have much to learn when it comes to appreciating our city centre trees.
11 Retailer of the Year. This year’s Gala Evening, held in June at the Arena, was a great success. The Society donated £500 as sponsor of the Markets Trader category, which was won by Stanley Green’s fabric stall. The toy shop, Little Wonders, in the Maltings, was the overall winner. We are now working on 2010’s event.
12 Members & Awards Evening. This tookl take place on Wednesday 14 October 2009 at the Maltings Arts Theatre, St Albans. We shall shortly be updating our "Awards" page so that you cn see what caught the Awards Group’s eye this time round.
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1 TescoPlan. No new store application to date. Could Tesco be getting cold feet, or is it just a lull caused by the credit crunch? The City Vision and the Local Development Framework document highlight how the London Road site is not regarded as being in the city centre, as Tesco would like us to believe. Much better to use this space for housing or a much-needed new primary school. Work on restoring some of their neglected properties is long overdue. More information: www.stoptesco.com
2 Railfreight Terminal. See main menu and www.strife.biz
3 Verulamium Park. Discussions continue on how to process improvements in the Park following rejection of the Heritage Lottery Bid. The Society remains wary over some recent actions and proposals. We do not wish to see the area over-engineered and illuminated, with some of the wildlife being treated as intruders in what is, after all, their home which we should share with them. The difficult subject of cycle paths seems to be rising up the agenda. How these would actually work safely, especially between King Harry Lane and the Fighting Cocks bridge , remains unclear.
4 Odeon. No significant developments, except the serving by the Council of a Section 215 Notice on Wattsdown, the owners. This has resulted in the modest whitewashing of the façade, which has certainly improved the look of the building, and demonstrates just how good this iconic Art Deco cinema could appear. A local school student has initiated a campaign to help move things along. This is a welcome boost to past and present efforts. Negotiations over the sale of the building are understood to be in a delicate position – to the point that there is a news blackout.
5 Council Conservation & Design Department. Cuts have gone ahead, much to our concern. This is a retrograde step, particularly in view of the recent report from English Heritage on Conservation Areas at Risk, which included St Albans. See www. ????? We find this unbelievably frustrating, given that our Council is currently extolling the importance of heritage, conservation and design in the LDF consultation document. We continue to make representations about the impact of these cutbacks.
6 Town Hall. The Merchant Tea & Coffee Company went into administration, and the existing franchisee has taken over the café premises as an independent business. Sadly, this has not meant any alteration to the previous unfortunate fitments. STARTS www remains upstairs.
7 Oaklands FE College. The Hub & Spoke scheme has stalled because of lack of government funding. Appeals over the College’s Smallford Campus and Highfield sites involving Green Belt development, ie the Sweetheart Inquiry, have ironically been given approval. So we have an impasse.
8 City Vision. See main menu.
9 Cinema. The contract between Henry Davidson and the Council is over. We continue to support the concept of cinema for all in St Albans. A Council-backed cinema scheme is part of the City Vision, and we must not forget that there is still the Odeon option staring us in the face.
10 Hertfordshire House / Police Station. The latest planning application from Antringham Developments was refused in July. There could be an Appeal, but we trust the developer will see that any proposal now needs to be part of the City Vision project. The Society participated in the debate to place Tree Preservation Orders on the five mature trees on the site, and we were delighted when the Orders were confirmed – but it was a close call. It seems some of our councillors still have much to learn when it comes to appreciating our city centre trees.
11 Retailer of the Year. This year’s Gala Evening, held in June at the Arena, was a great success. The Society donated £500 as sponsor of the Markets Trader category, which was won by Stanley Green’s fabric stall. The toy shop, Little Wonders, in the Maltings, was the overall winner. We are now working on 2010’s event.
12 Members & Awards Evening. This tookl take place on Wednesday 14 October 2009 at the Maltings Arts Theatre, St Albans. We shall shortly be updating our "Awards" page so that you cn see what caught the Awards Group’s eye this time round.
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