Twenty’s Plenty Update
At the Parish Council meeting on Tuesday 31st October, County Councillor Richard Thake, addressed Council to provide an update on the latest news regarding the Twenty’s Plenty project. The Position Statement for the project, which formed the basis for the presentation, can be found on the news feed on the Parish Council website News – Codicote Parish Council (codicote-pc.gov.uk)
Richard confirmed that the final consultation process will begin for residents in Codicote on the week commencing 4th November. The proposed scheme is the final version, and no amendments can be made. The Parish Council strongly encourages residents to respond to the consultation.
Facts about 20mph
- Data shows that a person hit at 20mph is five times more likely to survive than if hit at 30mph (DFT)
- Traffic noise at 20mph is half as noisy as traffic travelling at 30mph
- Living Streets’ walk to school challenge reported that schools in 20mph areas have seen a greater increase in active travel journeys (49% to 74%), compared to schools predominantly in 30mph areas (49% to 67%)
S106 Monies from the four housing developments in Codicote
With the two of the four housing developments under way in Codicote, the Parish Council thought it would be useful to clarify the reality around the terms of the availability of the s106 monies that these developments are currently scheduled to generate.
The Parish Council have three projects tied to the s106 monies, a rebuilt youth facility on the current Scout hut site, a rebuild of the pavilion at the sports field and a redevelopment of the play area at the sports field. In line with the information below, all three of these projects could be a number of years away from being started.
Firstly, it is important to point out that the funds only become available to any designated project when the agreed trigger points for payment to North Herts Council are met for each of the four developments. In reality, this is likely to be a number of years away. The Cowards Lane housing development hasn’t yet put in a planning application and The Close housing development is in the process of drawing up plans: again no planning application has yet been submitted to the District Council. The money for the play area at the sports field will be paid to North Herts Council when 50% of the housing stock on the former Wyevale site has been sold.
It should also be noted that there are no guarantees that the full sums of money earmarked for the projects will be received; developers only release new builds for market when the financial conditions are favourable and the fact that two of the four developments have yet to receive planning permission adds to the uncertainly.
Taylor Wimpey Section 106 Planning Obligations
Taylor Wimpey have recently issued leaflets and erected information boards outside their development sites confirming that £423,000 from the Heath Lane and Wyevale developments has been set aside, to be paid to the Parish Council, for the Scout hut and pavilion projects, as well as extra funding for Open Spaces and the Play Space.
The Heath Lane development has triggered the first tranche of money to be paid to North Herts Council, which amounts to £125,876.70 for the Scout hut and £28,281.25 for the pavilion. This money has not yet been paid to Codicote Parish Council. It will be the Parish Council’s responsibility to plan projects on which the funds can be spent, and an application to North Herts Council, meeting strict criteria, will need to be made once the project has been completed in order to receive the funds.
The remainder of the money will be subject to the conditions described above and will be released under the same strict criteria to the Parish Council over time from each development, this is likely to take several years as highlighted above. The mechanism for this is currently being investigated by the Parish Council.
It can be seen that the process is lengthy and given that North Herts Council is the guardian of S106 funding, the Parish Council is not at liberty to release any funds to local organisations, whether or not they are named by Taylor Wimpey.
Firework Display
The Parish Council would like to thank all who attended for adhering to the car parking guidance; this helped enormously in the smooth running of the event. We hope that those that attended the firework display at the John Clements enjoyed the show – the feedback has been very positive.
Christmas Lights Switch on Event
The Parish Council are very pleased to confirm that the Christmas lights switch on event is scheduled for 4pm on Sunday 3rd December 2023. The Christingle service at St Giles church has been pushed back to 4.30pm to allow residents to attend both events, should they wish to do so.
On behalf of Codicote Parish Council we sincerely hope that you have a great festive break and a very happy New Year.