Society of St.Michael’s & Kingsbury |
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June 2010 No. 37 |
Website Edition |
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View from Camlet Way bank up towards Verulam Road
In and around Camlet Way and Fryth Mead, there are areas of grass where the future ownership and maintenance are in doubt. These include the strip separating Camlet Way from Verulam Road, the grass around the Camlet Way diagonal footpath, and the areas between Fryth Mead, the river and Bluehouse Hill. There are already problems with fences on part of this land and the Committee of the Society is very concerned in case these areas become neglected (we are grateful to a local resident for alerting us to this issue).
The land concerned originally belonged to Harding Ulster Ltd, the developer of Camlet Way and Fryth Mead. When that company was dissolved, the land was vested with the Crown Estate, and is now being handled by the Solicitor for Her Majesty's Treasury. St Albans Council is negotiating with HM Treasury to see if the Council can take over the land. In the meantime, the Council is continuing to cut the grass in the areas concerned, and collecting litter there, as a goodwill gesture.
This raises two issues:
·The fences between Camlet Way and Verulam Road are broken in places, but nobody will currently take responsibility for repairing them.
If negotiations with HM Treasury fail, the Council may refuse to collect litter and cut the grass, which would have a big impact on the appearance of Camlet Way and Fryth Mead.
The Society’s Committee has expressed their concern to the Chief Executive of St Albans Council. We are now going to escalate the matter, to try and encourage a transfer of the green spaces from HM Treasury to the Council.
The Society continues to work hard in the interests of the local community, and I appreciate greatly the work carried out by all the members of the Society’s Committee. As well as the issue of Camlet Way and Fryth Mead green spaces covered in this Newsletter, the Committee has been looking recently at such matters as local planning applications, street lighting, and the area around the ford (next to the bridge), and you will see it is also organising an event for Society members in September.
The Society does not work in isolation, being represented at ‘Combined Groups’ meetings, where resident groups in St. Albans discuss common issues. At a recent such meeting there was strong support for a 20 mile per hour speed limit within the Conservation Area, and your Committee would be in favour of such a limit. If you have a view on this please let us know.
When your editor was coming to live in St. Michael's, a house agent in London told him; “Oh, that's where they do the dancing in the street.” And, of course it is true. Previously it was always held on the first Wednesday in July, but this year it will be on the last in June, i.e. the 30th. No doubt all the usual performers such as Stevenage Sword and Wicket Brood will be there.
If you have never seen this colourful pageant re-enacting the story of St. Alban’s martydom then do not miss it on Saturday 19th June, starting at 10.30 am. by the Verulamium Museum. This is really an Abbey function but the pilgrimage starts at St. Michael's, by the Museum, and follows the route believed to have been taken by Alban from his trial, probably in the Roman Forum or Basilica on the site of which St. Michael's Church is built, to his execution on the site of the Abbey.
The Society continues to maintain the appearance of St. Michael's Ford beside the bridge over the River Ver. This year the Committee agreed to the purchase of additional gravel which, with the help of volunteers was laid, and some of the detritus that accumulates was cleared. We hope that parents will deter their children from throwing the gravel back into the river. We are also concerned at the size of the willow tree beside the ford. It needs to be reduced and the Council has been asked to take action.
Some money has been found towards the park improvements. We shall not list them all here but the most important one is the work to clear silt and improve the lakes. £100,000 has been allocated for this project and it was hoped the work would start in September of this year, but is dependant on the approval of the Environment Agency. Those who have attended meetings of the Steering Group for the last 5 years will believe in the start when they see it. The Society, together with other residents’ groups, the Friends of Verulamium Park and the Civic Society, continue to press for action at meetings of the Steering Group. There is some good news: the Labyrinth Garden is going to be built.
This Newsletter is delivered to everyone in St Michael's and Kingsbury, regardless of whether households are Society members or not. However it is this Society which organises and pays for its production and distribution. The Committee has been looking at ways of benefiting our paid up membership beyond the price reduction on local concert tickets and attendance at the AGM.
By kind permission of Adam and Jill Singer and archaeological expert Simon West, member households are invited, in the first instance, to bring along any unidentified items of interest from their gardens to Kingsbury Barn between 12 noon and 4.00 pm. Garden detectives of any age are encouraged to scour their plots in the coming months for any old pottery or glass pieces, oyster shells or toga pins! Much of our area was either in Verulamium or covered with city rubbish in Roman times and has acquired unwanted household items ever since. A more detailed programme for the day will be given in our August Newsletter, but do put the event in your diary/calendar now. As membership Secretary, I will be there on the day to welcome participants. Those from households that are not already members can pay to join for what will then be the New Year 2010/11, on the door.
As you may have seen, St Albans Council has appointed Heather Cheesbrough as the new Head of Planning and Building Control. She was previously a senior director at EDAW, a consultancy firm, responsible for ‘spatial and master planning’ and regeneration. While there, commissions included work on Local Development Frameworks for various local authorities, very relevant given that St Albans is currently putting together its LDF. Prior to this, she worked at the consultancy Urban Initiatives, and before that in local government at three London Boroughs.
We reported on the new street lamps in Fishpool Street in our last newsletter. Committee Member John Cadisch has maintained efforts to have further improvements in St. Michael's Street, and is trying to set up a meeting with Hertfordshire Highways. As always it will come down to a question of money, but Hertfordshire Highways are sympathetic and we are hopeful of success.
Many of us have seen beautiful flower arrangements and wondered how they were put together. As part of the fundraising for the replacement of St. Michael’s Church roof, a flower arranging demonstration has been organised by the church. Anita Lindeman, a ‘Jane Packer’ trained florist working locally with many years of experience in the business, will be showing you how to make the most out of your flowers.
The event will take place on Thursday 17th June from 8pm in St. Michael’s Parish Centre, St. Michael’s Street. The cost is £7.00 per person and this includes light refreshments. If you wish to purchase a ticket please contact Georgie Ray in St. Michael’s Parish Office on 01727 835037. The Office is open Monday to Friday between 9am and 1pm.
The Committee has been concerned at the cost of printing these quarterly newsletters, which are distributed to all households in the Society's area. We are extremely grateful for the sponsorship of this edition by a generous donation from The Six Bells.
The pub is the only licensed premises within the walls of Verulamium and was built on the site of a Roman bathhouse. Evidence of a pre-Roman coin mint has also been found. There are references to the pub going back to 1596, and photographs such as the one below from a century ago.
The Six Bells continues to provide beer and cheer to travellers and locals alike, and was recently awarded a CAMRA Gold Shield.
The same scene taken circa 1910
The Six Bells today
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MICHAEL’S MANOR
Fishpool Street, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, AL3 4RY |
