FOCUS                             Winter 2011      Edited by Hugo Hardy               Musical Chairs - School places in Berkhamsted        For twenty years and more in the town finding a nursery or first school place for a child has been a frustrating business for many. The reasons were not hard to foresee. The Conservative-controlled councils (Herts County and Dacorum) that have controlled the school planning and development in the town in the town for almost all the time have allowed a complete mismatch of the development and the prediction of need.        We have seen a a massive increase in the building on the north side of the town right from Gravel Path to Tunnel Fields but yet all the places are in school on the other side of the valley. Even worse, those schools are full to bursting and yet there is no coherent plan for improvement.        We hear desperate stories from people who need nursery places; time and again young families have to endure a distressing game of musical chairs. We hear that the 'only way' to resolve the situation is to scrap the entire middle school system. Whatever you think of the middle school system it should not be scrapped merely to get the Tory County Council off the hook on school places.        When LibDems ran the Town Council, 1999 to 2007, we campaigned for a first school on the north side of thevalley. We thought it quite stupid that all nurseries and first schools are on the south side of the High Street; the traffic generated by this surge across the valley everyday is responsible for much congestion and pollution.        There is plenty of room to build a first school, with nursery, on the field beside Bridgewater School. This is what County should have done some years back.               No Play Space        Another example of incompetence is the failure to provide good play space for pre-school children. The Conservative Borough Council is allowing development without the corresponding play space. The worst example of this is the development of Stag Lane, a high density development without play space.        Conservative planning councillors dismissed our objections. They opted to force resident to rely on 'play' facilities on Lagley Meadow, half a mile away. This was not and is not good enough for our children.                                                               Car Parking in Berkhamsted        Car parking in Town can sometimes be a real challenge. We know that the town centre car parks are usually very full, while commuters, who drive to work in the Town, or want to avoid the exorbitant charges at the Station, use the roads close to the Station and centre.        The controversial expansion of the station car park was supported by the Borough and Town Council - with measures aimed to force commuters to use the station, and off local roads. But London Midland's charges are too high for hard-pressed commuters who continue to use local roads.        The Town Council is close to finalising plans for its Controlled Parking Zones - but just as 8 years ago, residents in and close to the two areas are divided on whether the schemes should be adopted as set out in the proposals. It seems that the Citizens Association also consider the proposals to be flawed.               Multi-Story parking?        Has the time come to press the Town and Borough Councils to come up with plans for more parking places in the Town? The St Johns Well or Lower Kings Road parks are the obvious options for a modest multi -story car park.               Parking Charges -Sunday/Christmas Week/Free?        "Thank you" to the many residents who have signed our Petition to the Borough to restore free parking on Sundays and Christmas Week. We believe many more will want charges to be waived, especially on Remembrance Sundays to support the veterans and others who march or attend local services. We have joined with our LibDem colleagues in Tring and Hemel Hempstead so together we have over 1000 signatures on the petition.        We have asked the Borough to tell us how much is collected on Sundays: they say the ticket machines are not able to total the amounts collected each day!        The Borough will be making decisions on its future Car Park Charges in October. Please email or write to Dacorum Borough Council [you can leave it at the Civic Centre in Berkhamsted] if you want to influence the Councillors.        Let us know if you have ideas or suggestions on how car parking in the town centre could be improved.               Contact the LibDems        By email at: libdem@berkhamsted-libdem.org.uk        Or write to us: Liberal Democrats, Freepost RSSG-JHHR-JSZY , Felden House, Berkhamsted HP4 2BL.        Or by hand at Felden House, Dower Mews, High St. [opposite The Rex]. Published and promoted by G Stevens and Berkhamsted and Northchurch Liberal Democrats all at Felden House, Dower Mews Berkhamsted HP4 2BL