Despite this year being a little different, you can still enjoy Halloween as a family and as a community!
The Playing Out project from Sustainable St Albans brings us 10 top tips for enjoying this Halloween which is unlike any other – click here to view. Find out how you can create a community atmosphere in your part of St Albans District and satisfy your kids’ cravings for fun and treats while celebrating the Spooky Season in a sustainable way.
Several new bins have been installed across the village. These new style bins are closed at the top to make it more difficult for animals such as foxes and squirrels to get at the rubbish, which was often found strewn across the grass in the mornings.
Did you know that regular bins are also suitable for dog waste? As dog waste no longer needs to be disposed of by a specialist company, all dedicated dog poo bins are to be gradually being removed and replaced with these wonderful new green and gold mixed waste bin.
Click here to visit our dedicated page regarding village bins which includes a map of their locations.
As per Government guidelines, facilities such as The Memorial Hall and the Marford Football Pavilion will now have QR code posters located by entrances. Users of these facilities will be required to scan this QR code prior to entering the building. This can be done using the new NHS COVID-19 app which is available for both Android and Apple phones. This app will only work nationally from Thursday 24 September.
According to Gov.uk:
“When someone enters a venue and scans an official NHS QR code poster, the venue information will be logged on the user’s phone. The device will check if users have been at that location at the relevant time and if the app finds a match, users will get an alert anonymously with advice on what to do based on the level of risk.”
Message from Sanctus Ltd
In order to make excavations safe for the remediation, we are permitted to abstract groundwater for discharge to the River Lea. These operations are permitted by the Environment Agency.
Prior to discharge, the groundwater goes through our bespoke onsite water treatment system which ensures the water quality meets the criteria set by the Environment Agency. This system comprises a Siltbuster, oil/water separator and granular activated carbon pods.
Animals swim and may drown in rivers and rubbish can fall in, as well as numerous hazards not immediately visible to the naked eye.
Plants have been stolen from the Crinkle Crankle Community Garden, which is located between St Helens Church and King Edward Place.
Four clumps of agapanthus were crudely taken, leaving that area of the garden to look patchy. The team responsible for maintenance will do what they can to improve the area now and thereafter replace the bulbs in the Autumn; however, it will take time for these flowers to return to their former glory.
The Parish Council and all those involved in the garden are incredibly disappointed and hope that this remains an isolated incident.
If you have any information regarding this incident, please report it to the Police by calling 101 or online.
Following the reopening of the ATP on 24 July, it has been noticed that many young people using it have been taking both food and bikes onto the pitch, which is clearly stated in the rules as not being allowed.
In addition, social distancing doesn’t appear to be taking place. Whilst the Parish Council understands this is difficult, it is extremely important to ensure the safety of all.
Parents – please ensure your budding footballers are aware of the rules before using the pitch. The pitch will be locked again if the rules are not followed.
Due to suspected vandalism, the seesaw at Marford Playing Fields play area has been removed for repair. Our team intend to get the seesaw back to its home as soon as possible.
Check out our new campaign to reduce the amount of litter being dropped. Let’s do what we can to keep our village beautiful.
Harpenden Town Council released the following statement today, 17 July 2020:
Update 10am 17 July 2020 – Unauthorised Encampment on Harpenden Common
We have visited the site again this morning and carried out an assessment of the situation. As a result we have taken the decision to instruct Enforcement Bailiffs to attend the site and issue a ‘notice to leave’ under Common Law by tomorrow morning. Enforcement bailiffs will attend the site tomorrow morning and carry out a physical eviction if they have not abided by the notice to leave.
Unfortunately there are limited powers available to us to deal with these type of unauthorised encampments and so we have to carefully decide our actions to ensure the quickest outcome. In this case we feel the use of Common Law is appropriate given the environmental importance of the part of the Common that they are on and the potential for a negative impact on the rights of the local community.
We are also aware that a fly-tip has appeared adjacent to the encampment and we will be following this up.
We are aware of this issue as they are expected to move overnight/tomorrow morning.
Please remember to call 999 in an emergency.