Minutes

Look! St Albans 2
nd
representatives group meeting held on
Monday 24
th
February 2014 at !"0 #he $ounty $onstitutional
$lub %St Albans& Limited' 2( )idgmont )oad' St Albans'
*ert+ordshire AL1 "A,
Secretary established that there was a quorate in place.
Members present
Fiona Couper, David Lloyd, Mel Hilbrown, Graeme astham, !lan McCartney, "ohn
Hoad, #anessa Gre$ory, Chris Debenham, "ames Gre$ory, %im Leicester, Councillor
&eric 'ead, !nthony (liver, Mi)e Hartley and Helen &ishop
Apologies +or absen-e
Councillor Daly, David llis, "ohn Metcal* substituted by Mi)e Hartley, Donald Munro
substituted by Helen &ishop.
$hairmans Address and -omments
Chairman opened the meetin$ at +.,-pm and welcomed everyone and substitute
members Helen &ishop *rom !rc . !rc and Mi)e Hartley St !lbans Cycle campai$n
#anesa said she wished to ma)e some comments at start o* meetin$ as she wanted
to ensure that all representatives had an equal opportunity to spea) on a$enda items
and proposed measures to try to ensure this happened. %he previous venue had
presented some hearin$ di**iculties *or some.
#anessa had been invited by %he Mayor to meet with her in %he Mayor/s parlour to
discuss Loo)0 !lbans, as the Mayor had *elt rather *rustrated that she hadn/t been
able to attend any o* our meetin$s. She was most $enerous with her time and
thorou$hly en1oyed loo)in$ throu$h our wor)shop report. %he concept o* the desi$n
codes really cau$ht her eye in view o* her recent visits to our twin towns. She was
e2tremely enthusiastic and supportive about what we have done and are proposin$
to do and promised to spread the word. She had wanted to observe the meetin$
toni$ht to demonstrate her support, but un*ortunately the Mayoral diary did not
permit.
#anessa had also had a *urther meetin$ with !lina Con$reve, 3rincipal Lecturer4
sustainable plannin$ at 5niversity o* Hert*ordshire and was )een to build Loo)0/s
relationship with the university.
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#anessa had also been deeply encoura$ed by the analysis o* those who had
attended our !GM. 3eople *rom Harpenden, 'edbourn, London Colney, the #erulam
estate, Marshalswic) and &atchwood had attended thus provin$ the wide spread
interest in our pro1ect and indeed concern about our city centre was district wide.
#anessa had also been encoura$ed by the number o* hits on our Scribd website6
includin$ 787 hits on the constitution, 9+ on the Mo5, 8,: on ;<hat is Loo)0 St
!lbans and 8,++, hit on our desi$n wor)shop report. (ur a$enda *or toni$ht had ,=
hits and our "anuary meetin$ a$enda had :- hits.
#anessa $ave advance notice that she would li)e to raise an !(& item on arran$in$
another ;in*ormal $atherin$/, probably in a pub *or easy conversations. %hese are
speci*ically *or supporters to as) reps $roup member/s questions or indeed hope*ully
o**er assistance with specialised s)ills *or our wor)in$ parties, in a *riendly rela2ed
settin$. She thou$ht it also demonstrates Loo)0 St !lbans is always listenin$ to the
voice o* the community on desi$n. %here*ore i* the $roup a$reed she would as) the
secretary to arran$e and include details in his proposed mail shot to our supporters.
Finally #anessa as)ed "ohn Hoad on the pro$ress on the si$nin$ o* M(5 with the
council action point *rom our last meetin$. "ohn Hoad advised that the Head o*
3lannin$ was very busy but he would press him to *inalise.
Update the Chairman and Head of Planning subsequently met and signed the MOU
jointly on the 27th February.
Minutes4 %o con*irm the minutes o* meetin$ >o. 8 o* the representatives $roup held
on 8=
th
"anuary 7-8,.
%he minutes were approved by those present without amendments and the
Chairman si$ned the minutes.
.eputy $hairmans -omments
%he deputy chair had no important matters to report to collea$ues at this meetin$.
#reasurer update! to in-lude a vote to approve banking arrangements please
see dra+t resolutions belo/
%he %reasurer advised that he had investi$ated ban)in$ with &arclays or >at <est
and the proposals *or each ban) were attached to the meetin$ a$enda *or
consideration.
!s &arclays o**ered on line chec)in$ o* balances and they had been very help*ul with
application, he would recommend that we use them. However it was up to the reps
$roup to decide which ban).
#he pre+eren-e o+ the reps group /as 0ar-lays1 Mel *ilbro/n +ormally
proposed and Anthony 2liver se-onded and the proposal belo/ /as a--epted
unanimously1
0ar-lays proposal adopted
%he Meetin$ considered the &arclays Customer !$reement and other documents
which the &an) has provided and resolved that4?
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8. Loo)0 St !lbans @ALS!AB appoints &arclays &an) 3LC @Athe &an)AB as Loo)0 St
!lbans ban)ers6
7. LS! accepts the terms o* the &arclays Customer a$reement and con*irms such
acceptance to the &an) by completin$ the &an)Cs *orm o* !ppointment o* &an)ers6
=. LS! authorise any individual noti*ied to the &an) @an Aauthorised personAB to4?
@aB enter into any other a$reements with the &an) @includin$ ban)in$ *acility
a$reements and indemnitiesB which they consider to be in the interests o* LS! *rom
time to time6 and
@bB $ive instructions concernin$ the operation o* LS!Cs ban) accounts and otherwise
communicate with the &an) in each case in writin$ or verbally, in accordance with the
Customer !$reement6 and
@c B re$ister LS! *or the &an)Cs computer and telephone ban)in$ services.
%he 'G also noted that i* Loo)0 St !lbans re$istered *or the &an)Cs computer and
telephone ban)in$ services, any o* the authorised person@sB actin$ in accordance
with the current approval processes *or the services would be responsible *or
amendin$ ;Loo)0 St !lbans customer pro*ileC which @amon$ other thin$sB determines4?
@aB the accounts that can be accessed by computer or telephone6
@bB security procedures and the number o* individuals required to approve each
instruction issued to the &an) @approval processesB6
@c B the individuals @AusersAB allowed to use the service *or ma)in$ payments and
other purposes @within any speci*ied limitsB
%he $roup also noted that the &an) is entitled to act on all instructions $iven by a
user in accordance with the correct security procedures, until the company noti*ies
the appropriate computer or telephone ban)in$ service that the user is no lon$er
authorised to act *or it.
Funding
%he %reasurer advised that he had been investi$atin$ various *undin$ ideas.
%his included enterin$ into a nei$hbourhood partnership a$reement which allowed
some $overnment *undin$.
! $eneral discussion too) place the 'es 'epublica report was mentioned. Dt was *elt
that some o* the *undin$ opportunities required a *ull constituted $roup or$anised by
the local council. <e do not *it into that cate$ory.
Deputy Chairman mentioned that he had approached the Hert*ordshire L3 *or
*undin$, he would chase *or a response.
(ther su$$estions *or or$anisations that mi$ht provide *undin$ were %he 'owntree
Foundation and Herts Community Foundation.
%he Chairman mentioned that when ne$otiatin$ the costs o* Charettes with
developers we should ta)e into account that the cost o* a community volunteer had
be estimated at E=F- a day so members the reps $roup are in e**ect contributin$ to
the process in a number o* ways.
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>o su$$estion was made that members would be paid or indeed as) to be paid, 1ust
that their involvement can be costed and o**set. %he $roup learnt that the council cost
volunteers at two thirds o* the >ational wa$e.
%he $enerally *eelin$ was that we would need a *und o* several thousand pounds to
cover $eneral annual runnin$ costs as well as in hand *undin$ *or community
contributions to any Charette process.
#reasurer proposed and .eputy $hair se-onded membership o+ $3S at a -ost
o+ 420 per annum1 Membership /ould ensure /e kept in tou-h /ith other
groups and also be able to a--ess training +or +undraising et-1 #his /as
agreed1
5ebsite and /ebsite +unding /as also dis-ussed6
<ebsite desi$ners such as <ord3ress who o**er a no *rills simple solution, but we
had no e2perts in the room who could actually volunteer to desi$n one.
<e should consider other websites such as <est Hampstead community pro1ect
@>ei$hbourhood ForumB to use as a possible template.
Deputy Chairman and !lan McCartney have contacts at (a)lands Colle$e who mi$ht
consider desi$nin$ one as student pro1ect.
Chairman reminded the $roup that a wor)in$ party on *undin$ had been set up and
all reps $roup members should *eel *ree to *eed into this with su$$estions or indeed
1oin the $roup.
Se-retarys update in-luding investigations into insuran-e
!s requested at the last meetin$ the Secretary had contacted Lar) Dnsurance Group
and had received a proposal *orm to enable obtainin$ a quotation *or 3ro*essional
Liability.
!*ter a $eneral discussion it was a$reed that we would also need 3ublic Liability
Dnsurance. !lthou$h many venues we held our meetin$s were already covered,
should we hold events outside such cover would be necessary.
Secretary a$reed to request a quotation *or this sort o* cover too.
%he secretary distributed copies o* ;Dra*t $uidance *or Loo)0 St !lbans wor)in$
parties/ *or comment and subsequently sent out copies via email *or comment as he
did not e2pect a decision at this meetin$.
! short discussion too) place and the reps $roup a$reed to loo) at the dra*t $uidance
and ma)e comments at the ne2t meetin$. !lthou$h it was a$reed that wor)in$ parties
would not have authority to spend money, as such decisions would have to be made
by the reps $roup.
Note No further !omments ha"e been re!ei"ed "ia email on the draft guidan!e
do!ument.
6roposal by $hairman 3anessa ,regory
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$ommunity Feedba-k %short /orking party&

!im and (b1ective6 as it is best practice on community en$a$ement to ensure all
views are recorded6 we should review *eedbac) *rom the open meetin$ on 7-th
March 7-8=.

3urpose4 nsure all views are recorded in a user *riendly manner, published and our
supporters advised.
!s the *ormat o* the community en$a$ement was on lar$e posters the deputy chair
o**ered the use o* lar$e tables at his o**ice in S%!>%! *or easier analysis.
Collatin$ would involve ensurin$ comments matched the ri$ht sections o* our desi$n
wor)shop report updated "an 7-8= report.
%his wor) would require a *ew hours intensive copyin$ and ma)in$ notes6 notin$
*actual comments, not interpretin$ but capturin$ their comments and puttin$ into
easily readable *ormat.
Graeme astham and "ames Gre$ory volunteered to assist #anessa Gre$ory

6roposal by $hairman 3anessa ,regory
$an /e propose any innovative /ays to get our key messages to the
-ommunity7

%wo )ey messa$es are4

8B 5nderstandin$ why part *undin$ o* charrettes etc by developers is necessary and
appropriate.
7B 5nderstandin$ that viability *or a new development the issues are not purely
economic, though fundamental# but also include social and naturalGenvironmental.
%his is set out in our Community Capital Framewor) on pa$e 8H o* the wor)shop
report.
Chairman handed copies o* Community Capital Framewor) to the reps $roup
! $eneral discussion ensued and it was *elt that the publicity wor)in$ party should
consider these issues.
Chairman hi$hli$hted she was the only volunteer at last meetin$ could she please
have some more volunteers.
Mel Hilbrown and !nthony (liver o**ered some help.
6roposal by ,raeme 8astham
I! discussion o* the *orm that consultation with LS! should ta)e. !*ter the discussion
LS! should write to S!DC e2pressly settin$ out its terms o* consultation.
Aims' ob9e-tives and purpose
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%o ensure that all members o* the Steerin$ Group and S!DC understand the *orm
LS! Consultation will ta)e.J
Graeme articulated concerns he had a*ter readin$ the constitution. %hese concerns
included Loo)0 proposed method o* en$a$ement was too ri$id and would not
encoura$e developers to en$a$e the community throu$h Loo)0 St !lbans. He also
outlined his concerns that Loo)0 would ;in*orm/ the developer o* costs involved and
the developers would not be actively involved in plannin$ the charrette process. !ll
sites would not merit a charrette process. Le$ally community consultation was only
required on lar$e development sites.
! $eneral discussion too) place.
Dt was a$reed small sites would prove insu**iciently viable to hold a charrette process6
*or e2ample a chan$e o* shop *ront obviously would not warrant a charrette process.
!lthou$h some members e2pressed concern that our dra*t desi$n codes should be
available and used by developers on all siKes o* developments within our city centre.
Dt was *elt that a charrette process would be *le2ible in len$th and number o*
independent *acilitators required to prove to be a *le2ible tool.
Many members tried to reassure that an a$reement would need to be entered into
with a developer on a charrette process. %his would set out quite clearly what both
parties could e2pect *rom each other, includin$ scope and costin$s. Loo)0 St !lbans
had no power to *orce a developer to en$a$e the community at the pre application
sta$e throu$h us. <e could only hope, with the direction o* travel in non?statutory
$uidance and our Mo5 with the council that developers/ would see the bene*its both
*inancially and in probability o* shortenin$ the len$th o* plannin$ process that early
en$a$ement would could o**er.
%he chairman su$$ested a protocol may needed to be drawn up and *reely available
on how Loo)0 should deal with an in*ormal or *ormal approach *rom a
landownerGdeveloper.
6roposal by ,raeme 8astham
I! discussion as to whether or not distillation o* the Desi$n Code document is
desirable @brou$ht *orward *rom the previous meetin$B.
Aims' ob9e-tives and purpose
%o reinstate *or discussion an item that could not be discussed *ully at the previous
meetin$/ and ;whilst ta)in$ care to ac)nowled$e that the ori$inal document has been
consulted upon the steerin$ $roup should decide whether or not a distilled version
should be made available to allJ.
Dt was a$reed that the su$$estion should be loo)ed into as a mar)etin$ tool in the
publicity and events wor)in$ party.
A204 $ny substantial items not %re"iously ad"ised to the se!retary &ith &ording &ill
be dis!ussed at a future meeting of the re%s grou%.
%he Chairman proposed another in*ormal $atherin$ in a pub to encoura$e people to
come and discuss any concerns or as) questions with members o* the reps $roup.
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!lso this would $ive those wishin$ to volunteer *or wor)in$ parties an opportunity to
$et a *eel *or the time commitment and wor) involved.
%he reps $roup a$reed this was a $ood idea and a suitable date should be
considered and a$reed outside the meetin$.
Note 't &as agreed outside the meeting that Monday 2(
th
Mar!h &as a suitable date
and a gathering too) %la!e from 7%m at the *aterend +arn.
Set date and venue +or the ne:t reps group meeting
Monday 79
th
!pril 7-8,. Dt was a$reed the current venue was hi$hly suitable *or our
meetin$s and ne2t meetin$ should hope*ully be held here a$ain @%he County
Constitutional ClubB.
>ote4 #enue con*irmed post meetin$
Meetin$ ended at 8-48- pm
%hese minutes were approved by those present and si$ned by the chairman at the
=
rd
meetin$ o* the representatives/ $roup on Monday 8:
th
May 7-8,
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
Chair Loo)0 St !lbans (ur Community #oice on Desi$n
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