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Bovingdon cut-backs affect us all
THE chairman of Bovingdon Parish Council has called on the entire borough to fight the proposed closure of Bovingdon Fire Station claiming the cuts will have knock-on effects throughout Dacorum.
Councillor Richard Briden says there is strong opposition to the planned closure in Bovingdon, but adds that people in Hemel Hempstead and the borough as a whole, may not realise that their own fire service could suffer if the 100-year-old station is closed.
"People don't realise how little cover there is in the borough," said Councillor Briden .
He says that there have been nearly a dozen occasions in the past few months when both appliances at Hemel Hempstead have been called out and retained firefighters from Bovingdon have had to go to the town to provide cover.
"When you look at the whole picture it is quite frightening," said the councillor. "They want to build more and more houses in Dacorum ,yet we are getting less and less fire cover,? he added.
Bovingdon fire station, which is home to 10 retained firefighters, is set to close next April as part of a raft of proposed cost-cutting measures aimed at saving £500,000 countywide.
Dacorum's two MPs, Mike Penning and David Gauke, as well as borough councillors, have spoken out against the plans and have asked county council chiefs to reconsider.
Bovingdon Parish Council will be holding a public meeting on Monday November 7 to discuss the situation.
Zone bans booze from centre
POLICE are confident that a no alcohol zone introduced in Bovingdon today (Wednesday) will help to rid the village of boozing youths.
PC Bob Heley's team were given the go-ahead for the zone by council chiefs last month following an increase in the number of young drinkers gathering in the village at night.
Covering two areas, in the centre of Bovingdon, the zone gives police the power to confiscate drink and arrest those who refuse to comply.
"This zone is the first of its type in this area, but I don't think we'll have any problems,? said PC Heley.
"No alcohol zones tend to be used in places like Jarman Park, where people are leaving bars with drinks in hand, but this zone will enable us to deal with youths who have one open drink and a number of unopened cans or bottles.
"A lot of people have been coming from outside Bovingdon to drink in its public places, but I think once the alcohol is out of the equation there will no longer be a problem," he said.
Prior to the introduction of the no alcohol zone, residents in Bovingdon registered a series of complaints with police over the increasing number of young drinkers gathering in the village.
Complaints focused on a youth shelter in the High Street and included concerns over yobbish behaviour and loud car stereos.
According to PC Heley, several other areas in Hemel Hempstead could soon apply for no alcohol zones following the introduction of the Bovingdon ban.
"A lot of interest has been registered with the council's licensing chiefs from residents in other parts of Hemel Hempstead," said PC Heley.
"The Old Town High Street, Boxmoor, Durrants Hill Road and Grovehill have all been mentioned and hopefully the Bovingdon zone will make it easier for others to follow.?
Pubs celebrate top awards
When it comes to local food and drink pubs are still serving up the best
THE AWARD winning Bricklayers Arms pub is hoping to tot up yet more gongs this year after having reached the finals of Chef of the Year and Wine List of the Year awards.
Claude Paillet, the executive head chef at the pub in Flaunden, will be competing for chef of the year in the finals of the Publican Magazine?s annual Pub Food Awards.
He beat hundreds of applicants to be one of the four finalists in the competition, which is considered one of the pub industry's leading food awards.
Having trained in a three star Michelin restaurant in France, he impressed judges with his wide ranging menu that combines traditional pub food with modern British and French fusion cuisine.
He is hoping his Aylesbury duck confit, which is like shepherds pie but made with duck, will stir the judges' taste buds on Tuesday, October 18 to win him the top spot.
The winner will be announced at London's Savoy Hotel on Wednesday, November 9.
Chef Alan Bell is also hoping for some awards in the future after reaching the finals of Pub Chef Magazine's Pub Chef of the Year competition.
The talented 20-year-old, from Chipperfield, has already won the Greene King Caterer of the Year 2004/5.
The 18th century free house has also been shortlisted for its formidable and growing wine list, which includes more that 80 European and New World wines, carefully selected by Alvin Michaels.
Mr Michaels, who bought the pub in 2003 with his wife Sally, said: "I'm absolutely delighted for myself and the rest of the team, they thoroughly deserve the recognition. Claude has been instrumental in revamping our menu and creating a real sense of team spirit in the kitchens. He has brought new ideas and a real stability to the restaurant."
When the couple first walked into the pub ten years ago the wine choice was cheap and nasty, according to them.
Alvin said: "Now we offer wines for any budget and taste and we have experience and knowledge to help our customers choose a wine that will fully compliment their meal.?
The pub has already won this year's Award of Excellence for the Best Food Pub in South England.
Village plans under attack
A HUNTON Bridge councillor has criticised developers over plans to build 128 new homes in the village.
Fairview Homes has applied to redevelop part of the village but parish councillor Belinda Phipps fears it may ruin the village and create problems with crime and vandalism.
"Fairview will make £15million as a result and the losers will be the villagers and all our children as history and a lovely canal side conservation area are destroyed in favour of cheap-looking units crammed in to create cash to pay the directors hundreds of thousands of pounds,"she said.
The application will be heard at a meeting of Three Rivers Council next month.
A banner opposing the development is hanging in the village.
GP reveals expense of treating prisoners compared to village surgery
Prison's triple health cost
THE cost of providing healthcare to prisoners in The Mount in Bovingdon is three times higher than for patients in the local community.
The annual budget for the prison is £1.1 million, compared to the budget for a nearby GP?s surgery of £530,000.
What makes the picture all the more startling is there are 700 inmates in the Mount but almost 3,000 patients on the books at Archway Surgery in Bovingdon.
The figures emerged during a presentation by Dr Gerry Bulger at Dacorum Primary Care Trust's AGM.
Dr Bulger's Archway Surgery has won the contract to run some services in the Mount as part of a shake-up in prison healthcare.
After the meeting Dr Bulger was keen to stress that direct comparisons between the prison's budget and his had to be qualified because £200,000 of the Mount's spending went on services not provided by GP surgeries like dentistry.
The GP also said the prison had a high turnover of inmates which effectively doubled the number of patients.
MP Mike Penning said he was 'worried' by the gap in funding, particularly in light of the cuts faced by health services in Dacorum as a result of millions of pounds of debt.
"Prisoners in the Mount deserve the best possible medical care that the NHS can provide and that's exactly what my constituents deserve in Hemel," he said.
"This anomaly in funding worries me and I will be asking questions of the primary care trust as to why there seems to be a disproportionate amount of money going to the Mount when services in Dacorum seem to be suffering a cut in funding."
Dr Bulger said the extra resources helped to cut reoffending but also pointed out inefficiencies in the prison system added to costs.
"It works out as costing three times as much to treat each prisoner a year as it does to treat a patient in Bovingdon village," he said.
"There are huge opportunities to use these resources to develop a better service which should reduce recidivism and help prisoners lead more productive lives on the outside after their release.
"The costs may be high because the service was originally run by the Home Office using a hospital model.
"Hopefully the primary care approach will be able to release resources within the budget to offer a better service such that the Mount becomes a beacon practice.?
Italian restaurant hits the big Times
LA CASETTA restaurant in Kings Langley is giving London's top spots for Italian food a run for their recipes.
The eatery in High Street has been listed as one of the top ten Italian and Mediterranean restaurants in the South East.
The other nine restaurants featured in the list, compiled by The Times newspaper, were all based in the capital and included Jamie Oliver's Giorgio Locatelli and The River Café.
National recognition for the restaurant, set in a 16th Century cottage, follows its success as Hertfordshire Restaurant of the Year in 2002.
Spencer Tagg, owner of La Casetta, said: "I'm very proud of what we do. I go to some places and I'm in awe of the design but I think we score high on freshness and quality of ingredients, the motivation of our staff and friendly service ? things often lacking in big city restaurants.
"We care about this business and enjoy working here and I think that comes across to our customers."For Spencer and chef Mark Major, featuring alongside high profile restaurants in The Times' top ten has already increased business at La Casetta.
New customers have also included Londoners choosing to head out of the city for fine food and drink.
Spencer says however, that La Casetta's recent success is really a mark of recognition for Kings Langley as a
whole.
"It's a prime spot here and being featured in the top ten restaurants has been really good for the community," said Spencer, who lives in Watford.
"The locals and parish councillors have been calling in to congratulate us and I just think it's a good feeling for
everyone.
Tributes to crash victim
THE family of a Bovingdon man who died in a car accident have spoken of their devastation at losing a 'special person'. Paul Minns (pictured), 30, of Hempstead Road, died when his blue Volkswagen Golf cabriolet veered off Ley Hill Road at around 7.10pm on Sunday October 2.
"Paul has been cruelly taken from us all," a family statement read. "The whole of the family and his friends are totally devastated.
"Dave, Carol, Richard, Lea, Allan, Debra, Richard, Alison and his many friends are full of grief.
"How Nicola, his wife of thirteen and a half months, is feeling is beyond us all.
"Paul was a very special person who endeared himself to everyone he met."Mr Minn's death is the third fatality on Ley Hill Road in the last 15 months.
Commander at Bovingdon Fire Station, Jamie Fyfe, is contacting police in a bid to get speed-calming measures introduced.
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