1. home and garden

Founder of Campaign Group - Save the
Harpenden House Hotel.
Independent Consultant - Right School
Right Place.
WHAT INDEPENDENTS CAN DO FOR YOU
•
Ensure consultation is a priority.
•
Focus on issues that really matter to you
and put constituents first and foremost.
•
Make informed decisions based on common
sense and facts instead of having to toe a party line.
•
•
Be open and transparent in their decision
making.
Represent all constituents and not just those who
have voted for them.
CONSULTATION !
For Localism to truly succeed residents must be involved in the
decision making process. With the advent of new technologies
local authorities have never been in a better position to connect
with their communities. It will take open-minded councillors to
push for these changes but it is possible. Vote Independent to
help make this a reality!
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HARPENDEN INDEPENDENT PARTNERSHIP !
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H!iP
INDEPENDENTS
EN
RPENDEN
HA
SH IP
ER
N
DE
NT
N
I NDEPE
HiP
PAR
T
Anne is a Chartered Town Planner who has
worked for both local and central government
as well as the private sector.
Committee Member - Batford Community
Action Group (BCAG) - campaigning on
behalf of residents and event organisers.
Committee Member - Harpenden Society. !
PAUL HOWE
Raised in Kimpton and schooled in Hitchin.
After graduating settled in Harpenden in
1994.
!
PA R
Committee Member - BCAG.
Co-founder of Harpenden Independent
Partnership (HiP).
Member - Herts & Middlesex Wildlife Trust.!
!
T
Is a residents' group created to provide a means to share
information regarding initiatives and decisions which may affect
you in and around Harpenden. It is not a political party but it has
evolved into a platform to help residents stand at local elections.
HiP candidates are all independents, residents who merely wish
for fair and democratic local governance.
As such there is no party line, no hidden political agenda.
National policies are not made at this level of authority but
solutions to local issues can be driven by residents voices instead
of political group leaders and their whips.
NEW SECONDARY SCHOOL - Right School in the Right Place
Herts County Council's consultants have now determined that HCC's
preferred site F, Common Lane, Batford, is the most likely to pass a planning
application and so it has progressed to the next stage. Not only is site F the
most expensive site all round to develop and furthest from the area of unmet
need it is also closest to the three existing state funded schools. Why are
HCC still determined to build a school in this unsustainable location? HCC
will now have to purchase the site themselves but they already own other
sites in the area of need and there is an underused school in Redbourn.
There has been no public consultation whatsoever. Residents will only
have an opportunity to have their say by way of an official comment at the
planning application stage. There are serious traffic and parking implications
for Batford as a whole but even residents on the 'alternative' route, Crabtree/
Marquis Lane, will be seriously affected.
To meet the short term need, changes to
admission policies could have been made.
This would have ensured that even this
year more local children would have had
the opportunity of being educated in their
own town.
Self employed - Local property services
NE
INDEP
DE
NT
JOHN
HANSEN!
!
PAUL
HOWE!
!
!ANNE JAMES!
PIP MARTYN
A mother of three with four grandchildren
and has lived in our community for nearly
30 years.
RS H
IP
RPENDEN
HA
ANNE JAMES
One of the few statutory responsibilities of the
Town Council.
Allotments are a valuable
means of food production and can provide
great health and social benefits to all in our
local communities. It is imperative that your
Town Council has representatives who offer
their support to ensure that access to these
important assets is not lost. Whilst Pip strove
to ensure HTC's grant funding for this front-line
service was not reduced further, it is vital to
continue to manage and protect allotment
sites, safeguarding them for the benefit of
future generations.
PIP MARTYN
Has lived in Harpenden for over 20 years.
Born and raised in Cornwall.
Self employed Gardener.
Committee Member - BCAG.
Trustee and Secretary - East Harpenden
Gardening Club.
Coordinator - Neighbourhood & Allotment
Watch.
Co-founder - Harpenden Independent
Partnership (HiP).
NEIGHBOURHOOD PLANNING - In its Draft Strategic Local Plan the
District Council has determined that some Green Belt in Harpenden should
be released for housing development. The public response to the
consultation was overwhelmingly against this proposal (almost 80%) yet
SADC have concluded that this opinion was not indicative of the district as a
whole. They are still progressing the plan even though the Government has
made it quite clear that authorities do not have to release Green Belt land to
meet housing need. It is recognised that the impact on Harpenden and its
infrastructure will be immense.
With the advent of 'Localism' communities were given the right to shape
their own environment. Through Neighbourhood Plans they are able to
choose where houses, shops, offices and even schools should be built.
Harpenden Town Council can still progress a Neighbourhood Plan which
could see the release of more small scale Green Belt sites. In fact the
District Council has based its figures on this assumption. If insufficient sites
are identified by our parish councils the planning authority will have to
dictate where these further additional homes will be built. Therefore it is
imperative that your representatives at both town and district councils listen
to your concerns to ensure the right policies are in place to meet local
needs, provisions are made for the much needed infrastructure, employment
areas are safeguarded and that our green spaces remain protected.
WHY!
!
'be independent - get your voice back'!
RPENDEN
HA
HiP
IP
Chartered Electrical Engineer.
Managing Director and co-founder of
ETher NDE a Harpenden based
manufacturer of test equipment.
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ALLOTMENTS!
EN
PIP MARTYN is also standing as your Independent candidate in
the District Council Elections aiming to represent you there too.
Has lived in Harpenden for almost 30 years
and has two children.
INDEP
On the 7th May 2015 all sixteen Harpenden Town Council seats
are being contested. ANNE, JOHN, PAUL and PIP are your
Independent candidates for the four East Ward seats.
JOHN HANSEN
This is your opportunity to elect truly independent local
candidates to represent you.
R SH
EAST WARD
Common Sense Approach To Local Issues !
DE
NT
NE
Bringing open, transparent and
democratic governance to our local
council
HARPENDEN TOWN COUNCIL
ELECTIONS 7th MAY 2015!
PAR
T
OUR COMMUNITY!
East Ward has recently benefitted from some great community events but
without help and support from residents and local businesses, many of
these may not have been as successful or even possible. It is important
that we support and nurture these growing relationships, not only to
enhance community spirit but to acknowledge the wider role our local
employment sector plays. Our local authorities, especially town and parish
councils, should also do all they can to offer their help and support in
fostering these community-based initiatives.
WHEN AND WHERE!
!
Local and General Elections are both being held on
May 7th 2015 from 7.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m.
Your polling card will advise which
polling station to attend.
PARKING and associated congestion
is a chronic problem throughout
Harpenden with no current sustainable
solutions. Causes include: low parking
allocation at new developments,
traffic analysis overlooked at planning,
restricted access to on site parking at
schools etc., the problem is exacerbated
by Controlled Parking Zones. Instead of
providing additional parking CPZ simply
displace vehicles. We need to remedy
causes and not merely treat the
symptoms. Local government should
work with stakeholders and the
community to increase parking
provision.
HOW!
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TO VOTE INDEPENDENT
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LARKS IN THE PARKS 2014
It has only just become apparent that
the delays which caused the loss of
funding for an upper parking deck at the
Station were due to disagreements with
the District Council over materials. This
much needed infrastructure could have
already been under construction and
should be a priority for the Town.
JOHN HANSEN
X
PAUL HOWE
X
ANNE JAMES
X
PIP MARTYN
X
TRANSPARENCY - HiP campaigned widely for Harpenden Town Council to
allow residents to record its public meetings. This provides access to their
discussions for those who can not attend in person and encourages open and
transparent governance. It is only due to a recent change in Government
legislation that the public can now record town council meetings without
objection. HiP use their own video and audio equipment to make accurate
meeting records available. (Even councillors initially opposed to this public
right have since taken advantage of HiP's archive). Although HTC recently
unanimously agreed to invest in an audio recorder they did so solely to
protect themselves. HiP will continue to campaign for HTC to use their newly
acquired technology to benefit residents. This means recording meetings
when there are no members of public in attendance and ensuring that they do
not destroy the data as soon as written minutes are approved. This would not
only ensure the decision-making process is fully transparent, but also
provide a true and accurate record.
Text: 07864896322!
E-mail: harpendenip@gmail.com!
Facebook: Harpenden Independent Partnership
Promoted and published by Pip Martyn and Paul Howe, 5 Marquis Lane, Harpenden, Herts, AL5 5AA.
John Hansen, 29 Common Lane, Harpenden, Herts, AL5 5BT.
Anne James, 18 Pickford Hill, Harpenden, Herts, AL5 5HD.