Archive for category: News

The Parish Council Meeting was held on Thursday 2^nd October 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.

The Hertfordshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy

As reported last month several Councillors have been making themselves aware of the aims and hoped-for outcomes of this strategy. A decision was made at the last Council meeting that we would draft a Walkern Nature Recovery Strategy to restore and enhance biodiversity across the Parish through community-led action. We felt that we needed specific targets where the residents could take action and see progress being made ,for example, no-mow zones, bat and swift boxes and hedgehog highways.

The Council is anxious that this should be a project for the community so that, as well as helping native species and habitats, it will bring residents together in an enjoyable and worthwhile experience.

Meeting of Hertfordshire Parish, Town and Community Councils and Hertfordshire County Council

In late 2024 the Government set out plans to change how local councils operate. This means that areas like Hertfordshire that operate a system with a County Council, District and Borough Councils etc are being asked to reorganise. The meeting that several of us attended in September was to hear and comment on these suggested changes, The Plan for reorganisation will be sent to the Government in November 2025.

Key provisions include:

• Creation of new Strategic Authorities
• Greater Local control over major areas including transport, housing and environment
• Reorganisation of local government

At the time of the meeting no decision had been made as to the number of Unitary Authorities that should cover the County; 2, 3 and 4 were being considered.

The government has said that they want to promote Neighbourhood Area Committees to provide a simplified and standardised system of local governance These could include existing parish and town councillors on their board as well as representatives from other community organisations.

Some of the questions parish councillors were asked to consider included:

• How will we represent the views of our community to the Unitary Authority?
• How might we work with other town and parish councils?
• What is our approach to asset transfers? What would we want/not want to manage?

A Government decision on the proposed plan is expected in Spring 2026.

Planning Applications

The Council receives notice of the various planning applications made within the Parish. However, residents can also view, comment and object to applications on the East Herts Planning Portal by either searching Walkern or a specific road within the village.

For searches online use https://publicaccess.eastherts.gov.uk

The next Parish Council meeting will be held on Thursday 6^th November 2025 at the Walkern Sports and Community Centre commencing at 7.00 pm.

Christine Nudds, Parish Councillor

Hertfordshire’s 11 councils have launched the second phase of public engagement on the future of local government in the county. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for residents, community groups, businesses, and stakeholders to help shape how services are delivered in the years ahead.

 Why This Matters

In December 2024, the Government announced plans to simplify local government in England. The aim is to:

• Make services easier to access
• Improve efficiency
• Reduce costs

What’s Changing?

Currently, Hertfordshire has two types of councils:

• District and Borough Councils: Responsible for housing, planning, bin collections, car parks, and leisure services.
• County Council: Oversees schools, libraries, roads, children’s services, and adult social care.

Under the proposed reforms, these will be replaced by new unitary councils that deliver all services under one authority.

How You Can Get Involved

Your views are vital. Whether you’re a resident, business owner, or part of a local group, you’re invited to share your thoughts on:

• How services should be delivered
• What matters most to your community
• How local government can better serve Hertfordshire

The link below provides more information about how you can get involved.

Help shape Hertfordshire’s future – have your say on changes to local government | East Herts District Council

Let’s ensure Walkern’s voice is heard in shaping the future of our county.

The Parish Council Meeting was held on Thursday 5th June 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 will be available on the Parish Council website and on the Parish Council Notice Board outside Budgens shop.

Grants to Village Organisations

The Council receive requests from various local organisations with information on how the grant will be used. We were pleased to agree to the following:

Elderberries: £300

Walkern Journal: £300

Walkern History Society: £300

St Mary’s Church: £750

The United Reformed Church: £600

Playground Update

We are pleased with the positive response received from many residents about the new design for the playground. Those of you who have followed these reports in the Journal and on our website will know that the Council have spent many months planning the project and informing residents of its progress. We wanted to ensure that the S106 money set aside by the Inspector for the Wallace Green Way development should not be given back to the builders and we were also aware that much of the old equipment would not meet with current safety standards. We approached three playground companies for advice and emphasised the need for the new playground to be suitable for all children whatever their physical abilities. The design from HAGS met with all our approval and was subsequently endorsed by East Herts District Council who released the funds. Work began on June 16th and is progressing well, helped by the good weather.
We do hope that the new playground will be open for use by the time schools break up for the summer holidays. Meanwhile we want to remind residents that the play area at the Walkern
Sports Community Centre is there for families to enjoy. It is now completely enclosed with picnic tables inside the fenced area. The Fitness Trail is also available for older children aged 14 upwards, and adults.

Lanvallay Visitors

Several Councillors were pleased to attend the coffee morning on Saturday June 7th held at Walkern Hall to welcome the French visitors. Many of them had visited Walkern before and were staying with families in the village. It was good to chat in informal surroundings to Sophie Troubadours and Thierry Nicolas who are adjoints (deputies) to Bruno, the mayor of Lanvallay and were his representatives. Patrick Ramousse, the Chair of the Friends of Walkern described Lanvallay as a much larger area than our village but it was interesting to hear that they face similar problems, especially in encouraging people to get involved in running local societies and in local politics. Many are too busy with work and family life to commit to anything else. However, we agreed that it is at a local level that the needs of the community are really considered.

The planning and Infrastructure Bill

The Council have received information about the Planning and Infrastructure Bill that is currently being proposed in Westminster from Chris Hinchcliffe, our local Member of Parliament. He has written to all town and parish councils in his constituency setting out the amendments he has proposed to the bill. First, he hopes to improve the planning system so that it will “define and deliver affordable homes and empower local authorities in the planning process” Secondly, he proposes to “reframe the planning system to better deliver sustainable development, encourage spatial development and protect our chalk streams.” The third series of amendments aim to put communities at the heart of planning. These amendments have been supported by several organisations including CPRE, the countryside charity, the Town and Country Planning Association, Shelter and the Wildlife trusts. In his letter to the Parish Council he offered to visit Walkern to discuss these amendments with us and a date has been set for September. The online petition on Planning Reform, which some of you may have signed, was presented to Parliament by Chris Hinchcliffe on June 5th 2025.

The next Parish Council meeting will be held on Thursday 3rd July 2025 at the Walkern Sports and Community Centre commencing at 7.00 pm.

Christine Nudds, Parish Councillor

The Annual Parish Council Meeting and the monthly Council Meeting were held on Wednesday 7^th May 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 meetings will be available on the Parish Council website and on the Parish Council Notice Board outside Budgen’s shop.

Election of Chair

The Council was very pleased to re-elect Michele Rist as Chair and the Declaration of Acceptance of Office was duly signed.

Annual Parish Report

Michele Rist, as Chair, spoke of the many challenges faced by the Council including changing and updating policies as the responsibilities of local councils increases. The Council, although not at full capacity, works well together assisting each other where they can in all aspects of Council business.

Abi Brown, our clerk, has passed her probationary period and has been successful in obtaining a grant from East Herts District Council to cover the cost of fencing the play area at The Walkern Sports and Community Centre.

Reg Marjason , our Finance Officer, keeps the Council up to date on a monthly basis with clear statements so we are aware of what we are spending and upcoming costs. This year we have had to increase the precept which we receive from EHDC to cover Council responsibilities in order to meet rising costs. However, we have tried to keep it to a reasonable amount as the precept is financed from the local council tax paid by residents.

The Asset Register, showing all sites and buildings owned by the Council has been completely overhauled and will be checked annually. We are in the process of reviewing our contracts with the Allotment Association and the WSCC committee. Michele thanked Elaine Cook and her committee for her work in running the Allotment Association and also The Walkern Fair Committee and all those who helped to run the Fair at the WSCC on Sunday 4^th May.

The History Society is making good use of the Pigeon Hut, a really interesting place to visit, displaying items found in local digs or donated by residents. Michele thanked the society for their hard work and future plans to plant a new area outside the building which will add to the bio diversity of the site.

Michele thanked Michelle Wakeley, employed by the Council, for her great work of general maintenance around the village from tidying hedge rows, cutting grass in the play areas to cleaning the wooden seating at the WSCC and many other tasks besides. She also thanked Michael, who works for the Council in clearing litter in the streets and emptying bins maintained by the Parish Council. Many residents care about the appearance of Walkern and Jan Fewell and her husband and Miki and Andy Phillips who all litter pick were thanked for keeping the Village tidy.

Crime remains low in Walkern but acts of vandalism such as broken glass and throwing of bottles and other litter at the sports field, graffiti on play items or damaging equipment still occurs. We try to respond quickly to such mindless acts.

The Council is about to decide on our grants to the different village organisations that have requested help. These requests range from money to continue ongoing work or one-off payments for a special event.

Ending the report Michele hoped that District Councillors Tom Deffley and Tony Stowe and County Councillor Ken Crofton will continue to give the Parish Council

their advice and support.

Playground Update

Michele mentioned in her Annual Report that the High Street Playground is about to undergo a massive refurbishment funded by S106 monies. Councillors are having a Pre-Start Meeting with Jilly Saunders, the area representative of HAGS, and we hope their representative who will oversee the work on site.

Michele also mentioned that the Book Exchange Box is now back in the playground. Many thanks to John Wilson, who donated a great deal of wood and time to the project and Tony and John Stinchcombe who completed the renovation. Annie Sabido, a Village resident will be keeping the box topped up and the books in good condition.

Play Area at the WSCC

We hope that residents are aware that a fence matching the wooden fencing outside the Pavilion is now in place around the play area. We are very grateful for the grants we have received from EHDC and Ken Crofton to allow this project to go ahead. The fencing will help keep small children safe and keep dogs out of the area.

Gridlock on the Roads to Walkern

The Council are aware of the chaotic situation that took place on Friday 9^th May at about 3.30pm which resulted in a complete gridlock of roads leading from Stevenage to Walkern, Aston and the surrounding areas. Affinity Water are being approached for their comments.

The next Parish Council meeting will be held on Thursday 5^th June 2025 at the Walkern Sports and Community Centre commencing at 7.00 pm.

Christine Nudds, Parish Councillor