Lib Dem run St Albans District Council are proposing to cut council tax this year by o.4 %. This follows our freeze on council tax last year.

The Tory-run county council have also proposed a tax freeze this year - a year late in our opinion, but at least they are beginning to implement the Lib Dem campaign promises from last year! For those who have forgotten, last year they raised it by 3.5%. Unfortunately they are only able to do this by raiding the piggy  bank, removing 13 million pounds from reserves rather than reducing their reliance on expensive consultants or getting better value from their contracts (eg Herts Highways!!)

I am particularly pleased that we have been able to reduce costs through efficiency savings, and have not had to raid our reserves.

I have already reported many potholes in Harpenden, but if you see one, you can call me or logon to www.hertsdirect.org.uk/highwaysfaults The Tory run county council blame the weather of course, but if they had spent a little more on salting they would not be facing a £20 to £30 million bill for road repairs and nor would we have had such disruption to our bin collections and schools.

There are growing problems with cars parking in Marquis Lane with many seen parking on the verge, as you can see in the photo here. Parliamentary candidate Nigel Quinton and local activist Jeff Phillips came to see. I am in discussions with both the parking and leisure departments about the best way to prevent the parking on the common. We have to take into consideration the needs of the residents, the users of the park, the shops and the car park, but I am hopeful that we will soon be able to resolve this problem.

After many years of lobbying the contractors and working with housing officers, I have succeeded in getting the waste collection contract amended to include the provision of euro-bins or wheelie bins for all the flats in Batford. This is a triumph for common sense, and the residents will at long last have the same service as the rest of Batford.