Some play areas in Harpenden parks are old enough to have developed potholes!

After years of Conservative sole-control at all local government levels, for Town, District, and County Council, the new LibDem leadership at St Albans District Council, and presence as an opposition in Harpenden Town Council, is driving change and creating transparency.

Today we update you on work to transfer park assets from St Albans District Council to Harpenden Town Council.

In Harpenden, some parks are owned and managed at Town level, and others at District level. Liberal Democrats believe in the principle of local representation and local control, so we believe it is appropriate that Harpenden parks should be managed at Town Council level.

The Town Council already manages some parks, such as the lovely Batford Springs/ Marquis Lane play area. District owned and maintained parks are currently:
- Rothamsted Park (pictured below!),
- Roundwood Lane,
- Wood End,
- Oakley Road and
- Parva Close.

The central Rothamsted Park play area is in particular need of upgrade, with much of its equipment 20-30 years old. Local Conservative councillors sitting on the District parks sub-committee over many years have failed to prioritise play park investment for Harpenden families.

The Town Council is currently in a good position to provide the investment needed due to a recent £2.65m capital receipt following sale of some land, and your local Lib Dem Councillors have been championing to use this pot partially for park upgrades.

This is part of our "Healthy Streets" proposal, which also included outdoor sports facilities improvements in the Park.

Transfer of the District parks to the Town Council has been under consideration for around 15 months so far. The new LibDem leadership at St Albans District Council (SADC) immediately confirmed their willingness to enable the change.

A number of complications have arisen, for example related to the SADC investment in the Arts Centre building project in Rothamsted park, which will be hugely beneficial to the people of Harpenden once complete, and everything has been slowed by COVID.

However, progress has been made, and only a few residual issues remain around liabilities for future expenditure on existing assets.

The local Town Council leadership, still Conservative controlled, saw an opportunity to put politics before people, and engineered an abrupt walkout from negotiations in late July without attempting to resolve these small residual issues, much to the surprise of SADC.

The sum of money at stake is in net terms to Harpenden residents small (less than £5 per household) and there are likely to be several sensible options available to resolve technical problems.

Your local representatives LibDem representatives on Town Council and the LibDem leadership on SADC seek to balance Town and District interests, and have worked to facilitate a quick resumption of good faith discussions to find the appropriate compromises.

We believe our work has helped in this regard. As soon as the assets do transfer (and in some areas, once other projects, such as the Arts Centre, complete), work can begin to improve our parks.

So it’s time for Harpenden Conservative Councillors to stop playing political games, and to allow our children to play the games instead!

Let's end the political Roundabout!