• Attendance Details
• Agenda Frontsheet
• Agenda Reports Pack

Minutes: none

•  (i) To confirm the minutes of the Meeting of the Council held at 10.00am on 17 July 2018 (circulated separately).

•  (ii) To confirm the minutes of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Council held at 10.00am on 25 October 2018 (circulated separately).

Minutes: none

• Chairman's Announcements

Minutes: none

•  Please Note: The report contains a proposal for the disapplication of the political balance rules set out in the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 and for the approval of alternative arrangements in relation to the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny and Health Scrutiny Committees, their Sub-Committees and Topic Groups. If Council wishes to adopt these alternative arrangements it will need to agree to do so at the meeting with no member voting against.

Minutes: none

•  To deal with questions from any member of the public being resident in or a registered local government elector of Hertfordshire, to the Leader of the Council and Executive Members about the policies and /or strategic priorities of the Council or about any matter over which the Council has power or which directly affects the County.

Minutes: none

•  The opportunity for any member of the public, being resident in or a registered local government elector of Hertfordshire to present a petition relating to a matter over which the County Council has control, containing 1,000 or more signatures of residents or business ratepayers of Hertfordshire.

•  Notification of intent to present a petition must have been given to the Chief Legal Officer at least 20 clear days before the meeting where an item relating to the subject matter of the petition does not appear in the agenda, or at least 5 clear days where the item is the subject of a report already on the agenda.

•  [Members of the public who are considering raising an issue of concern via a petition are advised to contact their local County Councillor https://democracy.hertfordshire.gov.uk/mgFindMember.aspx

•  The Council's arrangements for the receipt of petitions are set out in Annex 22 - Petitions Scheme of the Constitution.]

•  If you have any queries about the petitions procedure for this meeting please contact Elaine Shell, Democratic Services Manager, by telephone on

Minutes: none

• We the undersigned petition the County Council to Work with local residents to stop the much used Cottonmill Railway crossing from being closed and instead require Network Rail to put in place all possible and appropriate safety measures and procedures including flashing lights and self-locking gates and ensure that train drivers use their horns as promised. Help to ensure that Network Rail explore all possible safety procedures in order to fulfil their own obligations. This route predates the construction of the railway and continues to be a vital link for local residents to access schools, shops and businesses. It is also part of the heavily promoted the Green Ring route around the centre of St Albans, used by thousands of cyclists and walkers each week. This Public Right of Way MUST be maintained whilst being kept safe for all users.

• THE NEGATIVE IMPACT IF THIS CROSSING WERE TO BE CLOSED:

• At least 1000 people are using this crossing on average every day. If Network Rail succeeded in closing this crossing, there are major negative impacts as follows:-

• 1) It will cut the Sopwell community in two

• 2) It will force pedestrians and other users to use alternative unsafe routes in order to reach their destinations (e.g. Cottonmill Lane/ Prospect Road). Many residents avoid Cottonmill Lane because it is a fast road and at various points has limited pedestrian side walks

• 3) It will add 30-40 minutes walking time for those accessing many local schools and shops (on potentially unsafe roads – see point 2 above)

• 4) This will inevitably put more cars on the road in an already congested city  5) Those who don't drive and who are not able to do long walks will lose this vital link and be severely   disadvantaged as a result. Sopwell is already identified as the St Albans ward with the highest number of non-car owning households

• 6) The elderly and parents with young children are hugely reliant on this route to get to the local shops and will be massively disadvantaged by the closure of this crossing

• 7) School children are reliant on using this crossing to safely get to and from school every day. Many cycle to school and would have no choice but to cycle on main roads such as Cottonmill which are far less suitable and unsafe (see Point 2).

• The report of the Director of Environment and Infrastructure on the background to the subject of the petition is attached.

• Local Member: A S B Walkington, St Albans South

Minutes: none

• Officer Reports Relevant To Executive Portfolios

Minutes: none

• Portfolio: Growth, Infrastructure, Planning and the Economy

• Report of the Director of Environment and Infrastructure

• Note: This report will also be considered by the Growth,

• Infrastructure, Planning & the Economy Cabinet Panel at its meeting on 14 November 2018 and by Cabinet at its meeting on 6 November 2018, and has been circulated to all Members of the County Council under separate cover. Please bring the report with you.

Minutes: none

• Portfolio: Growth, Infrastructure, Planning and the Economy Report of the Director of Environment and Infrastructure

• Note: This report will also be considered by the Growth, Infrastructure, Planning & the Economy Cabinet Panel at its meeting on 14 November 2018 and by Cabinet at its meeting on 26 November 2018, and has been circulated to all Members of the County Council under separate cover. Please bring the report with you.

Minutes: none

• Reports Of The Executive (attached)

Minutes: none

• To deal with questions from Members of the Council to the Leader of the Council and Executive Members.

Minutes: none

• Report of the Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (attached)

Minutes: none

• Report of the Chairman of the Health Scrutiny Committee (attached)

Minutes: none

•  Joint Report of the Director of Resources and the Chief Legal Officer (attached)

Minutes: none

•  Report of the Chairman of the Audit Committee (attached)

Minutes: none

•  Joint Report of the Chief Executive and the Chief Legal Officer

Minutes: none

• Report Of The Chief Legal Officer (Attached)

Minutes: none

• Notices Of Motion

Minutes: none

• “Council has previously recognised shortcomings in Hertfordshire’s transport networks, and resolved to identify solutions to better support a shift to pedestrian and cycle travel. That commitment did not acknowledge the insufficient and discriminatory nature of current pedestrian footways with regards to people with mobility impairment and disabilities. Years of budget constraints and lack of prioritisation of disability access issues have resulted in a pedestrian network that is not fit for use by wheelchair and mobility scooter users, or by those with other visual and mobility impairments

• Council believes that safe and accessible footways are essential to enabling Hertfordshire County Council’s corporate priorities, including providing residents the Opportunity to be Healthy & Safe, in particular supporting more people to live independently; and the Opportunity to Thrive.

• Council therefore resolves to ask the Executive to urgently to undertake to address these issues and improve the safety and accessibility of footways across the county, by developing plans to include the following:-

• the designation of an officer responsible for advocating for disability access issues across all departments;

• establishment of a mechanism for reporting problems and raising disability and accessibility issues;

• a review of footways across the county to identify all barriers to access (including missing and unsafe dropped kerbs, inclines that breach guidelines, drastically uneven surfaces, overgrown vegetation and other hazards), and production of a prioritised list by Division, prioritising routes from homes to shops, schools, bus stops, GP surgeries and other vital community services;

• investment to bring existing footways up to a minimum safe and accessible standard, either through a County-wide Invest-to-Improve programme, or through a one-time increase in Highways Locality Budgets sufficient to address all prioritised deficiencies;

• ensuring that current policies and guidelines for construction and maintenance of highways and footways follow government guidance with regard to accessibility; and

• ensuring that all new development meets accessibility standards.”

Minutes: none

•  “This Council welcomes the recent Government clarification that in next May's local elections outside London EU citizens will retain their right to both stand and vote for next May's local elections and any EU citizens elected in May will be able to retain their seats for the duration of their term of office.

•  However this Council is concerned that following next spring, like everything else to do with Brexit, their rights are completely unclear. Therefore Council calls on Her Majesty’s Government to issue urgent clarification as to the long term future of EU Citizens who have been resident here prior to 29th March 2019.

•  This Council believes that EU citizens who demonstrate their commitment to the UK by representing residents on local Councils deserve better than this and that the Government must make it clear that, with or without a deal EU citizens who are long-term resident in the UK and Hertfordshire will always be allowed to stand in Council elections.”

Minutes: none

•  “This Council notes that £1.8 million per year of funding for maintained nursery schools, of which there are 14 in Hertfordshire, has no guarantee from HM Government after March 2020. These schools provide an essential bedrock of under-fives education across the County. Without this funding they would not survive in their current form, if at all.

•  This Council asks that the Leader of the Council and the Executive Member for Education, Localism and Libraries write to the Department of Education and the Chancellor of the Exchequer to request that a commitment is given immediately to the continuation of the £1.8M funding beyond 2020, rather than await next year’s spending review, which will be too late for schools to plan ahead.

•  This Council also asks all Hertfordshire MPs to join the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) Nursery Schools, who are lobbying for this commitment.”

Minutes: none