Walkern Parish Council Report – July/August 2025

The Parish Council Meeting was held on Thursday 3rd July 2025 at Walkern Sports and Community Centre. This report covers some of the issues we have been dealing with over the last few months. The full minutes of the meeting are available on the Parish Council website and on the Parish Council Notice Board outside Budgens shop.

Annual Meeting of Hertfordshire Parish Town and Community Councils and Hertfordshire County Councils

Several Councillors will be attending this meeting on Friday 12th September which is being jointly chaired by Herts County Council and the Hertfordshire Association of Parish and Town Councils. This event will be an opportunity for us to hear about, comment on and give some input to the county’s proposals for Local Government Reorganisation in Hertfordshire before submission to the government in November 2025.

Playground Update

The playground is being put to good use now the school holidays have begun. As soon as the safety inspection had been completed and the more serious problems picked up by their report had been dealt with the playground was opened for business. Councillors have visited the playground on many occasions over the last few weeks and have chatted to the parents and children there. We are very pleased with their responses to the new equipment. It’s been a pleasure to see families picnicking, spending time in the area and having fun. There are still some snagging issues relating to the matting under some of the apparatus so we have contacted HAGS and hope to get these dealt with in the coming weeks. We are aware that the notice boards and the older benches at the entrance to the park now looking very dilapidated and we are in the process of getting quotes to carry out repairs. The Parish Council has many and varied responsibilities. When we spoke to the people at the playground many of them were unaware that it was the Council which was responsible for organising and coordinating the update of the playground equipment. We would welcome younger residents to join the Council and take part in other projects which would benefit the village of Walkern.

Play Area at the WSCC

Vandalism is an ongoing problem in this area. TAE, the company that fenced the play equipment, have met with Councillors several times and have carried out repairs free of charge, though it is apparent that damage has been caused by youngsters repeatedly kicking footballs against the palings with such force that even those that have been screwed in have been knocked out again.
Vandalism is an offence and we have reported these actions to the police on many occasions and asked them to increase their visits, especially in the evening. However, residents can also help by contacting Hertfordshire police themselves and giving details of such incidents.

The Hertfordshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy

This strategy is the culmination of 18 months of work by the Hertfordshire Nature Recovery Partnership, with support from environmental and ecological experts, land managers and town and parish councils. We have taken part in surveys and attended exhibitions in order to support nature in and around Walkern. The public consultation is now open and a Councillor will be attending a webinar on August 19th which will talk through some of the highlights of the strategy and provide an opportunity to ask questions. The Council will then respond to the survey.
The Hertfordshire Local Nature recovery Strategy is available to read online and the survey is open to all residents to respond.

The next Parish Council meeting will be held on Thursday 4th September 2025 at the Walkern Sports and Community Centre commencing at 7.00 pm.

Christine Nudds, Parish Councillor