St Albans Liberal Democrats

One of our longest-standing and popular events, the Quiz Supper is back again!

As usual it great fun and a great challenge too with questions from every aspect of life: music, history, geography, TV, film... and even politics!

A fish and chip supper will be served at 'half time' and we will run a licensed bar so you may purchase wine, beer and soft drinks from our own team bar.

Local Liberal Democrat Councillor Chris Brazier has reacted with dismay at the Herts Highways response to a petition of over 100 local residents about the state of Alexander Road in his division.

'I'm very disappointed that, after residents made the effort to bring the petition to the Conservative-run Council, the County's response has been to survey the road, find 4 potholes to fill in, and deem the rest of it acceptable. That's more than 25 signatures per pothole. How many would we need to get the road repaired properly?'

Hertfordshire's Liberal Democrats have accused the Conservative Administration at the County Council of failing to consult properly on the planned closure of Jane Campbell House in St Albans, which also has worrying implications for other care homes in Hertfordshire.

Even though the care home has an occupancy rate approaching 100%, the County Council has declared that it is 'having problems finding occupants' and that it 'is no longer economically viable'. The introduction of en suite accommodation, planned by the County Council, is impossible on the current site, which has led to the proposed sale of the land.

When the Budget of St Albans City & District Council is discussed at the next Council meeting on Thursday 23rd February, the Liberal Democrat group will push for a freeze in council house rents, instead of the Conservatives' proposed 8.3% increase.

The previous rules governing the amount that the Council can charge council tenants, which applied until recently, meant that the Council would have been penalised for variation from the formula set by Whitehall. These rules have been changed by the Coalition to allow greater local flexibility. While the Conservative administration at the District Council is content to accept the Whitehall-recommended guidelines for rent increases, local Lib Dems are convinced that there should be no rise at all next year.

Controversial plans to switch off some street lights in St Albans at night - part of a wider scheme being rolled out across Hertfordshire by the Conservative-run County Council - will go on display at the District Council following intervention by our local Lib Dem councillors.

Street maps showing the lights set to be switched off in the City will also be available for the public to view at the Liberal Democrat office (9 Hatfield Rd, St Albans AL1 3RR - above the Kashu Restaurant) on Saturday 18th February from 10 a.m. till 1 p.m., when a County Councillor will be on hand to answer questions and listen to residents' views. The period to receive feedback has also been extended, thanks to Lib Dem pressure, to allow more residents to be consulted.

As part of the Conservative-run County Council's efforts to reduce expenditure, they have implemented a policy of 'part night lighting'.

They are rolling out a one-size-fits-all approach which will see the lights go out at midnight in most areas. Currently the only exceptions to this are where the lights have been kept on for safety reasons, for example around traffic calming measures and CCTV.

It looks as though the long wait for the final decision on the proposed lorry terminal in Park Street will soon be over.

The witnesses at the most recent Public Inquiry into Helioslough's proposal and other interested parties have just received a letter from the Department for Communities and Local Government which says:

Rather than adding clarity to the future for St Albans Judo Club and The Pioneer, last week's meeting of the County's Overview & Scrutiny Committee on the future of the Ariston Site off Harpenden Road has led local Liberal Democrat Counillors to accuse the Conservatives at both the District and County Council of being "too vague" with their promises to support these community groups.

Attempts to prevent 12 staff from being made redundant to save just £41,000 were scuppered this week after the Conservatives voted to get rid of the Schools Library Service.

During the debate on the cabinet decision at a scrutiny meeting on Wednesday 25th January, the Liberal Democrat group highlighted that the closure of the service had been agreed without any reference to the County's own Education and Skills Cabinet Panel, despite the service being used exclusively by Hertfordshire's schools.

With the Olympics just around the corner, the Liberal Democrats are fighting hard to ensure that a number of local sport groups aren't made homeless by a decision made at the County Council to sell off the land which they use: the former Ariston Works Site at Harpenden Road.

On Tuesday, members of Hertfordshire County Council's Overview & Scrutiny Committee visited the site to find out more about the site and the groups that use it. They were told that St Albans Judo Club has produced a number of national medal winners and the Pioneer Skate Park has hosted the Girl Skate Jam UK. Some of the councillors seemed visibly shocked when they heard how many young people used the facilities and the wide range of activities taking place there.