Parish Council Meeting: Thursday 10 June
The next meeting of Preston Parish Council will be held on Thursday 10 June at 8pm via Zoom video conferencing. Any member of the public who would like to raise an issue to be discussed at this meeting should contact the Clerk. Anyone who would like to join in the electronic meeting should also contact Lisa Lathane, Clerk to the Parish Council:
by Friday 4 June. A link to join the meeting will emailed about 15 minutes before the meeting is due to start.
Please note: Parish Council meetings are now being held on Thursdays.
Road Closure: The Green
The Parish Council has been informed that The Green will be closed for utility works for two days from Tuesday 1 June.
Neighbourhood Watch
The number to contact at North Herts Police for all non-emergencies (including witnessing of fly-tipping) is 101 or 01707 354000.
For removal of fly tipping which has already occurred, call NHDC 01462 474000 or online at www.north-herts.gov.uk, then follow the links to Transport and Streets, Street Cleaning and Fly Tipping where there is a form to complete to report the details. If you use the What3Words app, please include the three words for the location of the fly tipping.
PC Johnie Streeter and PCSO Heather Burrows can be contacted regarding local community issues. Their contact details are as follows:
PC Johnie Streeter: 07525 905431 or 01438 757604 Johnie.streeter@herts.pnn.police.uk
PCSO Heather Burrows: 07740 745168 or 01438 757604 or heather.burrows@herts.pnn.police.uk
In the event of an emergency or if you witness a crime taking place please call 999.
Reporting suspicious activity
Please report any suspicious activity or vehicles you may witness in the locality.
Call the police on the non-emergency number 101 or report it online by using the website www.herts.police.uk/report and follow the links.
St Martin’s Church and All Saints’ Church Services
A recording of the service from All Saints can be found on the link below:
www.achurchnearyou.com/church/7580/
| Sunday 6th June | 9.30am | Holy Communion at St Martin’s
2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1 Mark 3:20-end |
| 11am | Sunday Worship at All Saints | |
| Sunday 13th June | 9.30am | Holy Communion at St Martin’s
2 Corinthians 5:6-10, 14-17 Mark 4:26-34 |
| 11am | Holy Communion at All Saints | |
| Sunday 20th June | 8am | Holy Communion (BCP) at All Saints |
| 10am | Opening of extension and new facilities at St Martin’s with the Bishop of St Albans
2 Corinthians 6:1-13 Mark 4:35-41 |
|
| 11am | Family Service at All Saints | |
| Sunday 27th June
|
9.30am | Family Service at St Martin’s
2 Corinthians 8:7-end Mark 5:21 – end |
| 11am | Holy Communion at All Saints |
Team Vicar of St Paul’s Walden with Preston:
Plant Stall
The final PLANT STALL this year will be held on Saturday 29th May from 9.30am. It will feature tender plants that have been hardened off and include tomatoes, sweet peppers and squashes as well as ferns, pelargoniums and dahlias together with a range of herbaceous material and some vegetable plants and house plants.
Please note that because of the size of the tomato plants they have had to be staked so please take care when handling these plants.
There will be plastic bags available for transport or your selected plants can be left inside the gates in a plant crèche to be collected later. Slips giving the usual details for internet donations will also be available.
All gardeners in the village are especially welcome to bring their offers to the stall and add further variety.
Hugh and Meta
A Letter From Our Team Vicar
Hello everybody!
In June we are celebrating. We are celebrating something new. St Martin’s has added new facilities – a WC and kitchenette – and so has become a better and more valuable resource for all our community here in Preston.
I am so pleased that there will be an official opening on 20th June by the Bishop of St Albans. Hopefully all those who have contributed will have received an invitation to the opening, which will be preceded by a Church service. I am really looking forward to that day later this month.
It was really great to have children from our school join us and take part in the Family Service in May. I am hopeful that this will become a regular occurrence, and I am so grateful to the Headteacher for actively supporting this. The next Family Service is on 27 June at 9.30. It is geared for families and young people. Bring your children or your grandchildren!
Covid has restricted what we have been able to offer over the last year – and in any case the church was closed from September until Easter.
But if our sister church in St Paul’s Walden is anything to go by, there will be many who would like their children – or themselves – to be baptised at St Martin’s. There will be people – perhaps you are one of them reading this – who will choose now to get married at St Martin’s.
Please come and talk to me. Please give me a ring. I am here to serve. The church is here to serve. That is the whole purpose of St Martin’s.
Have a great month!
With every blessing,
Stephen
St Martin’s Church 120 Club Draw 2020/2021
The winners in the May draw in the 2021/22 120 Club (£30 each) were:
No. 97 Mr & Mrs D Drew No. 82 Mr & Mrs D I Walker
There are a few unsold tickets and we welcome any new participants – tickets cost £20 for the year, with 25 prizes of £30. This is an important source of income for St Martin’s church to help maintain the building and churchyard. If you would like to join please call Richard Blockley on 457631.
Hitchin Foodbank Shortages
All donations are welcome; the following items are the most urgently need due to recent strong demand: Juice (long life); Tinned Tuna; Tinned Fruit (not grapefruit); Tinned Rice Pudding; Sponge Puddings. Thank you for your continued support. Please ensure items are undamaged and in date. Donations can be deposited in the blue box in the garage at Lychgate House, Church Lane, or at Waitrose and Sainsbury’s.
Village Day
Sadly due to the present circumstances we will be unable to hold Village Day this July.The Preston Trust Committee are hoping there will be a possibility to invite everyone, maybe even the scarecrows, to a parish event of some kind later on in the year.We will keep you updated, and look forward to seeing you again …
NHDC Local Plan Further Proposed Main Modifications Consultation: Wednesday 12 May To Thursday 24 June
Preston Parish Council would like to inform residents that the consultation on the further Main Modifications to the NHDC Local Plan will be held between Wednesday 12 May and Thursday 24 June. The Further Proposed Main Modifications are amendments to the Plan suggested by the Inspector following the hearings which took place late last year and earlier this year. Comments can refer to13 documents submitted to the Inspector for these hearings which can be found on the NHDC website: Examination Documents subject to Consultation – May 2021: ED170 to ED228.
This is the final consultation on the Local Plan and comments can only be made on these latest further main modifications. The outcomes of the three previous consultations have already been incorporated into the Local Plan. The background to the Local Plan can be found online.
The Consultation can be found on the NHDC website:
Comments by post should be sent to: Strategic Planning and Projects Group, North Hertfordshire District Council, PO Box 10613, Nottingham, NG6 6DW
All North Hertfordshire residents are welcome to respond to the consultation, regardless of whether they have responded to previous consultations on the Local Plan.
Preston Parish Council will comment on the further main modifications. The only changes specifically for Preston are FM 163 and 164 on page 60 of the first attachment: Further Proposed Modifications: May 2021 and are factual updates. Twenty nine homes have been built or granted permission since 2011 which make a total of 50 dwellings allocated, completed and permitted within the Local Plan period 2011 – 2031.
Key Further Main Modifications which can be commented on are:
MM45/FM001 on page 21: Policy SP9: Design and Sustainability: The Parish Council supports this policy, including the plan for green infrastructure and biodiversity net gain. This must ensure that green belt land is only used for development in exceptional circumstances.
MM083/FM009 on page 31: Policy SP19: East of Luton: 2100 houses are allocated on North Hertfordshire Green Belt land to accommodate Luton’s unmet housing need. NHDC, Luton Borough Council, Bloor Homes and Crown Estates signed a Statement of Common Ground in December 2020: ED224. Central Bedfordshire was not included in this document even though it will accommodate some of Luton’s unmet housing need. An up to date assessment of houses built in Luton since 2017 could substantially reduce the number to be provided by NHDC and this should be undertaken before the NHDC Local Plan is finally adopted.
MM166/FM100 on page 42: Policy NEx: Biodiversity and Geological Sites: The Parish Council supports this modification which gives protection to specific sites including Wain Wood which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
If anyone would like a list of all the Parish Council’s points to use themselves, they should contact Lisa Lathane, Clerk to Preston Parish Council:
The information will be provided after the next Parish Council meeting on Thursday 10 June.