Author: Sarah Heighton

It’s World Autism Acceptance Week (28 March – 3 April)

While many people are now aware of Autism, there is still so much to do to help people really understand the condition, how it can impact people’s lives and how we can work together to create a society that is inclusive for people with Autism.

Hertfordshire Local Offer provides information, advice and can help you find services and support available in #Herts visit

https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/…/The-Hertfordshire…

Autistic young people want to be more accepted by society, which is why this year we are focusing on autism acceptance.

One autistic young person said: “Autism isn’t a disease that people should be made aware about. It’s a difference that society should accommodate.”

Throughout this week we will be standing with autistic children and young people as they call for greater acceptance.

Young people will also be breaking down some common myths about autism and sharing some facts to increase an informed understanding.

Show your support by downloading our resources and tell your friends, family and colleagues why you are standing with autistic children and young people! https://bit.ly/3CY8W16

May be an image of text that says "National World Autism Autistic Acceptance Week Society 28 March 3 April 2022 supporting I'm World Acceptance Week Autism"

Radlett Youth Council planted trees in honour of Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee

In honour of Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee, and her 70-year reign as Monarch, we at the Radlett Youth Council, planted nearly thirty trees, to commemorate this great period in our country’s history. It was a wonderful experience for everyone who helped, and something that we believe marks a historical moment for now and future generations.

We have created what will grow into a small canopy of trees that will mark Her Majesty’s legacy, all that she has built and forms part of the Queen’s Green Canopy Initiative. 

It will become an area for all in Radlett to enjoy and continue to feel a sense of togetherness and community. 

We at Radlett Youth Council feel very proud to have been part of this experience to build a lasting symbol. If you wish to join the youth council and be part of creating the future for Radlett please contact me via Aldenham Parish Council on manager@aldenham-pc.gov.uk

S Evani Vice Chairman (Radlett Youth Council)

Making Hertsmere homes comfortable, healthy and greener

Man holding a warm kettle
We have secured £2.2 million in Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery funding to assist Hertsmere residents in making their homes warm, comfortable and energy efficient.

Under the scheme, householders can apply to receive a wide range of insulation measures and renewable heating technologies, which are designed to support homes to reduce their impact on the environment.

The Green Homes Grant scheme is open to homeowners, private tenants and people in social rented accommodation, where the home has a low energy rating and a low annual income. 

If you’re a Hertsmere homeowner with a household income below £30,000, you may be eligible for up to £10,000 of work to make energy efficient improvements to your home.

Funding is also available for private landlords, local authority-owned properties and social housing, however a 33 per cent contribution from the landlord is required and the maximum funding per property is £5,000.

More than 70 homeowners have already taken advantage of the Green Homes Grant scheme.

Register your interest at https://surveys.est.org.uk /s/GreenHomesGrantSchemeLAD/Register your interest at 
or call 0808 196 8255. To learn more about the Green Homes Grant scheme, please visit our website.

‘Worrying about Money?’ leaflet supports financial uncertainty in Hertsmere

A new initiative aimed at helping people facing increasing financial uncertainty find the right support has been launched this week.

Hertsmere Food Poverty Alliance launched its ‘Worrying about Money?’ leaflet for residents of Hertsmere experiencing financial insecurity, and anyone supporting them, at a virtual event yesterday (Tuesday 8 March). The leaflet, which has been designed to help people easily identify and access local advice providers and ways to access existing entitlements and maximise income, will be landing on doorsteps, along with council tax bills, from the end of this month.

The leaflet has been developed based on findings from the Hertsmere Food Poverty Alliance and was co-produced by ourselves and the Independent Food Aid Network (IFAN). At the launch, representatives of organisations who have come together to develop the leaflet, shared their thoughts and experiences and discussed how access to money advice and support can help reduce the need for charitable food aid.

The Hertsmere Food Poverty Alliance is a borough-wide organisation aimed at tackling food poverty in response to the rising reliance on foodbanks, and was launched at the end of last year by us. Members are from a wide range of charitable and public sector organisations, including Citizens Advice, Borehamwood Food Bank, Potters Bar Foodbank and The Red Trust Bushey Foodbank.  

Find out more about Hertsmere Food Poverty Alliance at www.hertsmere.gov.uk/moneyworries and the initiative at Cash First Leaflets – Independent Food Aid Network UK.

Green Homes Grants could save you money on your energy bills

Green Homes Grants

With Ofgem’s announcement of a rise in the energy price cap from April 2022, residents in Hertsmere are being encouraged to check if they are eligible to receive help under a new scheme that has been recently launched which could help to help local householders to offset the impact of any increases in their energy bills, be warmer in their homes and lower their carbon emissions.

Under the Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery scheme, delivered by Warmworks on behalf of Hertsmere Borough Council and through funding from the UK Government, householders can apply to receive improvements to increase the comfort and warmth in their home.

The scheme offers a wide range of insulation measures and renewable heating technologies which are designed to support homes to reduce their impact on the environment, including air source, ground source, and hybrid heat pumps.

The Green Homes Grant scheme is open to homeowners, private tenants and people in social rented accommodation, where the home has a low energy rating and a low annual income.

Warmworks will arrange a survey in the homes of eligible householders to agree the work that will be carried out. An accredited and registered sub-contractor team then completes the installation of the agreed heating and energy-efficiency measures, before an independent inspection assesses the completed work against rigorous quality standards. Where required, Warmworks will also then arrange for a full annual service to be completed 12 months later.

You can find out if you are eligible for the scheme by completing the short application form at http://surveys.est.org.uk/s/GreenHomesGrantSchemeLAD or by calling 0808 196 8255. Read the full press release.

The Platt Subsidary Foundation

Platt Awards 2022

Are you under 25?

Do you live in Radlett, Aldenham or Shenley?

Are you planning an expedition or project in Summer 2022?

The Platt Subsidary Foundation offers one or more Awards, which may be competed for each year and are intended to support young people embarking on challenging and enterprising activities away from home, in this country or abroad.

Applicants must show that they have sufficient drive and initiative to be planning an expedition or project in which they will face a variety of physical or intellectual challenges. Projects, which include helping people in other communities, will be more favourably considered. The Award winner may be part of a team or working on their own, but the Award will always be granted in support of an aindividual and not as a contribution to general funds.

In 2021, no Awards were made due to the pandemic, school closures and severe restrictions on overseas travel. It is hoped that these restrictions will be lifted and will allow applications. Any young person wishing to compete for an Award should apply in writing to:

The Secretary

The Platt Subsidary Foundation

57A Loom Lane

Radlett

Herts

WD7 8NX

Completed Application Forms, countersigned by a parent or guardian, if under 18, should reach the Secretary by 31 March 2022. If circumstances allow, interviews wiil be conducted in April and the Governors’ decisions will be announced in early May 2022.

Hertsmere Borough Council’s budget for 2022/23 agreed

Budget agreed at full council meeting

The council’s elected representatives have backed a budget which acknowledges and responds to the on-going financial impact of the Covid 19 pandemic, while aiming to achieve a vision for Hertsmere that prioritises strong identity, enterprise and climate action with delivery of essential services at its core.  

Hertsmere Borough Council’s revenue budget for the next financial year (2022/2023), which sets out the anticipated outgoing costs of delivering services and how they will be met by funding resources, was approved at a recent Full Council meeting (Wednesday 23 February). Despite ongoing cost pressures and loss of income caused by the pandemic, a balanced budget was presented to the meeting and an average increase of £5 per household for Hertsmere Borough Council’s share of council tax bills was agreed, the same rise as last year.

A household in a Band D property will pay an average of £192 in council tax to Hertsmere Borough Council for its services for the year 2022/23- which equates to around 53p per day. That money is used to fund services including waste and recycling; planning; housing; parks and open spaces; street cleaning and environmental health; benefits administration and contributions towards Police Community Support Officers and the Citizens Advice Bureau.

As a billing authority, Hertsmere Borough Council collects the council tax every year, but the money residents pay does not all go to the borough council. On average, Hertsmere gets 10 per cent, or 10p in every £1 residents pay, Hertfordshire County Council gets 77 per cent, Hertfordshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner gets 11 per cent and, if residents live in an area with a parish or town council, (Aldenham Parish Council, Elstree and Borehamwood Town Council, Shenley Parish Council and South Mimms Parish Council), those councils receive two per cent.

Please see our full news article for further information and comments on the budget from the Portfolio Holder for Finance, Councillor Abhishek Sachdev. 

Community comes together for planting event

Hertsmere Borough Council has lent its support to a community-planting day in Borehamwood.

More than 20 local people and community representatives gathered alongside councillors, council officers and John O’Conner Grounds Maintenance last week, to help rejuvenate the planters.

The planters have been reduced in height and reshaped to discourage anti-social behaviour in the area, as well as transform them into a colourful display in time for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June. 

The scheme followed a successful bid to the Home Office Safer Streets Fund drawing on the clear links between a well-maintained area helping to promote communal awareness and pride. Match funding was also provided by Big Local. The funds have also enabled CCTV surveillance in the area to be upgraded.  

Local businesses and community groups – Aycliffe Road Day Centre, Herts Mind, the 1372 Squadron RAF Air Cadets and St Michaels Church and All Angels Church  – have each adopted a planter and suggested a range of plants along the themes of majesty, wellbeing, ecology and diversity, and memory.

Councillor Seamus Quilty, Portfolio Holder for Environment, said: “It was great to see the community work alongside the council, getting their hands dirty and making a difference to their local environment. I would like to thank everyone who came along to help and support the community-planting day.

“I am really proud of what we achieved and I am looking forward to when the flowers are in full bloom – that will make everything worthwhile. Our vision for the area is to be clean, green and safe for local people – I believe that we are setting down new roots, for new beginnings – a fresh start for the area.”

Reverend Louise Collins, Vicar of St Michael and All Angels Church and Chaplain of the 1372 Squadron RAF Air Cadets, both in Borehamwood, added: “It is wonderful to be part of this terrific community effort. The Queen’s Jubilee is a once-in-a-lifetime event and we want our corner of Borehamwood to look its absolute best by June. The four themed gardens – Majesty, Memory, Ecology & Diversity and Well-Being – exactly represent our times.

“Huge thanks to Hertsmere Borough Council, John O’Conner, Leecliffe The Big Local and all the groups who have taken part today. Now, what can we do next and how soon can we start?” 

Donna Inwood, Chair of Leecliffe Big Local, added: “It has been a pleasure to see the development of the planters on Aycliffe Road and working cohesively with organisations such as St Michaels Church and Hertsmere Borough Council. Leecliffe Big Local is looking forward to seeing the community enjoy new planters.

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