Fundamental Inaccuracies And False Presumptions

Public Transport

• Public transport is poor from Chiswell Green; a 5-minute car journey to Park Street requires an hour’s journey by bus to St Albans Abbey Station and a train back to Park Street !

• It’s not easy to use public transport or to cycle; the buses are infrequent and only go straight to St Albans and Luton or to Watford

• The purpose Built National Cycle Path through Greenwood Park is seldom used for its original purpose. Will new cycle paths be better used? – I doubt it

• Public Transport Access to St Albans City Station is limited to one bus in each direction every hour, the 724, a long distance Limited Stop Service which has poor regularity

• Current bus stops along the Watford Rd. are further away than the “Guidelines for Provided for Jouneys on Foot” in 2000 which state they are best within 500m for commuters and 400m for others

Parking

• Our neighbouring town of Hemel Hempstead has a very effective way of dealing with parking demand. In most of its streets pavement parking is encouraged. Pavements, on both sides of the road, are wide enough for pedestrians with buggies or wheelchairs and for parked cars. As a result the roads are not cluttered by parked cars and residents have more space as houses are not packed so closely together.

• In spite of a campaign to ‘Shop Local’ SADC imposed extra parking conditions and physical barriers to deter parking, e,g, raised kerbs outside the chemists and near Simmonds, 24/7 parking prohibited in the quiet little service road just down the A405 from Starbucks, excessive yellow lines in Chiswell Green Lane, Tippendell Lane and near the Chemists

• There is never enough parking for modern living outside new houses so cars from the new houses will leave their cars in Forge End and Long Fallow and walk to their homes

Size and Location

• St Albans in general and Chiswell Green in particular is hugely over-subscribed for medical and dental services. An extra 800 to 1000 residents will degrade services for all

• Adding nearly 1,000 new residents to a village of 2,800 is ridiculous. We will become a town overnight and lose our village character

Traffic

• The traffic lights to be installed at the new Burston Care Village will push traffic trying to avoid the traffic lights onto the Watford Road

• Cars park on double yellow lines outside Simmons because there is not enough parking

• There is not enough parking in the village for the shops

• It can be so difficult to turn out onto the Watford Road from side roads as there is a constant stream of traffic

• Eight Wheeler lorries regularly ignore the weight restrictions on Watford road. This is particularly northbound during late afternoon

Functioning Of The Development

• St Albans is nearly 3 miles from the City Station with only 1 direct bus route per hour. Residents of the new development would use cars to travel to the station when car use is supposed to be discouraged

• Chiswell Green is perfectly located for people who need good access to the main road routes nearby. New residents of these houses are likely to travel by car to work, not cycle

• The existing bus route through Chiswell Green is too far from the new development to encourage the new residents to use it

Relationship With The Surroundings

• We have a declining birth rate, net emmigration from the UK and more people moving away from London as they’re working from home so we don’t need so many houses now in the South East

• Chiswell Green has an aging population. Their homes are going to become available in the next 10-20 years for families to move into. To release those properties onto the open market sooner, Chiswell Green needs to provide more homes suitable for older people, or people with care needs

• Chiswell Green is a village, with specific charm and character, which for many is the reason for living here. This development will harm and completely change that character irreparably

• The new development will be completely out of keeping with the rest of the village

• A sudden increase in the population of the village of a third will cause an “us/them” situation as it is not easy to integrate such a sudden large number into an existing community