Community News - September 2006 - St Albans City & District Council
Community News - September 2006 - St Albans City & District Council
Community News - September 2006 - St Albans City & District Council
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
<strong>Community</strong><br />
newsnewsnewsnewsnews<br />
<strong>St</strong>reet cleaning -<br />
just 36p each week<br />
Parks and<br />
open spaces -<br />
just 32p each week<br />
Museums -<br />
just 42p<br />
each week<br />
Refuse - just 62p each week<br />
How much a Band D council tax property pays each week<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Albans</strong> <strong>City</strong> and <strong>District</strong> <strong>Council</strong>
Historic <strong>St</strong> <strong>Albans</strong> <strong>District</strong> becoming...<br />
<strong>Council</strong> offers Great<br />
Cutting the<br />
cost of crime<br />
CCTV cameras in<br />
the district save<br />
the community<br />
around £370,000<br />
a year preventing<br />
burglary,<br />
vandalism, pick<br />
pocketing and<br />
car crime.<br />
How much do you think you pay each<br />
week to have your rubbish collected?<br />
The answer might surprise you.<br />
The bill for refuse collection is just 62p a week for a Band D council tax property.<br />
And you might be surprised to know what good value other <strong>District</strong> <strong>Council</strong> services are. The<br />
average household pays just 32p a week towards the cost of maintaining parks and open spaces,<br />
36p a week to keep the district clean, 44p a week for recyling and 42p a week for museums.<br />
The average council tax bill for a Band D property is £1,293 a year, but more than 85.3 per cent<br />
of this, £1,102, goes to Hertfordshire County <strong>Council</strong> and the Hertfordshire Police Authority. Overall<br />
householders pay an average of just £3.07 per week for a vast range of services provided by <strong>St</strong><br />
<strong>Albans</strong> <strong>City</strong> and <strong>District</strong> <strong>Council</strong> from street cleaning and recycling to leisure centres and planning<br />
services.<br />
In this edition of the <strong>Community</strong> <strong>News</strong>, which costs 5.5p per copy, we have highlighted just a<br />
few of the many services that we believe provide outstanding value for money.<br />
Tell us how you want<br />
your money spent<br />
What do you want to see your council tax spent on? We are in the process of<br />
setting the budgets for next year and want to know what your priorities are.<br />
Should we be spending more money on recycling, housing provision, street<br />
cleaning or parks? Or do you want refuse collection, crime reduction, museums<br />
or licensing controls at the top of the list.<br />
Whatever your top priority let us know and we will use your suggestions to<br />
help us set the spending priorities for next year.<br />
E-mail your views to budget@stalbans.gov.uk, or cut out and post the slip<br />
below to Budget Suggestions, Policy and Communications Unit, <strong>District</strong><br />
<strong>Council</strong> Offices, <strong>St</strong> Peter’s <strong>St</strong>reet, <strong>St</strong> <strong>Albans</strong>, Herts AL1 3JE, by Friday 13th<br />
October.<br />
I would focus spending on:<br />
❑ Arts, Theatres and Public Halls<br />
❑ Cleaner <strong>District</strong><br />
❑ <strong>Community</strong> Safety / Crime Reduction<br />
❑ Concessionary Bus Fares and Bus Subsidies and Taxi Vouchers<br />
❑ Grants to Voluntary Organisations<br />
❑ Homelessness<br />
❑ Housing Provision<br />
❑ Licensing<br />
❑ Museums<br />
❑ Parks and Open Spaces<br />
❑ Planning and Building Control<br />
❑ Refuse Collection / Recycling<br />
❑ Sports and Leisure Centres<br />
❑ Tourism<br />
❑ Transport and Parking<br />
❑ Other<br />
Name<br />
Address<br />
Did you know?<br />
Tourism Development costs council taxpayers<br />
£76,000 a year. However, it is estimated that<br />
tourism in the district contributes £150 million<br />
to the local economy and supports 2,400 fulltime<br />
equivalent jobs in the district.<br />
(figures from Cambridge Model report by East of England Tourist Board)<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Albans</strong> <strong>City</strong> and <strong>District</strong> <strong>Council</strong>
...Hertfordshire’s premier community<br />
Value for Money<br />
Keeping down the<br />
cost of housing<br />
- The average tenant’s rent is<br />
£68.41 per week<br />
- From rents received we<br />
spend over £3m on repairing<br />
and maintaining the council’s<br />
housing stock of 5,357<br />
properties.<br />
- We are completing a threeyear<br />
kitchen and bathroom<br />
improvement programme and<br />
savings have meant we can<br />
complete more<br />
bathrooms to a<br />
high standard<br />
more quickly<br />
It costs just…<br />
- 55p a week to rent<br />
an allotment -<br />
including water<br />
and car parking<br />
- £1.57 per person<br />
per game of football -<br />
including changing<br />
rooms and showers<br />
- £1.40 for a<br />
child to swim at<br />
Westminster<br />
Lodge (free for<br />
under 5s)<br />
Web transactions cost only 25p<br />
Help cut costs<br />
by logging on<br />
Did you know that you can help us save money depending on the way<br />
you contact us?<br />
There are lots of ways of getting in touch, the most popular being the<br />
telephone. But it is much cheaper to contact us for some services via our<br />
website at www.stalbans.gov.uk, which means we save money while<br />
still providing you with a good service.<br />
Government figures show that it costs councils about £15 to see a<br />
customer in person, £9 to deal with a letter, £2 to deal with a<br />
telephone call, and just 25p via the website.<br />
So next time you want to get in touch, why not log on or phone,<br />
rather than writing or coming to the offices?<br />
Have your say –<br />
register to vote<br />
Registering to vote has never been easier. Electoral registration forms<br />
have gone out to 56,000 households and should be filled in and<br />
returned as soon as possible.<br />
If your details have not changed you can easily renew your registration<br />
by phone or on the internet. Call 0808 161 7660 or log on to www.registeronline.co.uk<br />
and follow the instructions enclosed with the registration<br />
forms.<br />
Many people do not realise that they have to renew their registration<br />
each year. If you pay council tax that does not mean you are registered to<br />
vote, you must still return the form.<br />
If you need help filling in the form call our helpline on 01727 819291 /<br />
819294 / 819545 or email elections@stalbans.gov.uk<br />
Did you know?<br />
The average household pays:<br />
- 32p a week to maintain<br />
parks, open spaces and<br />
commons<br />
- 42p a week for the<br />
museums<br />
- 22p a week towards housing<br />
services like preventing<br />
homelessness and grounds<br />
maintenance (excluding<br />
council house provision)<br />
All this<br />
for free…<br />
Did you know your council tax<br />
pays for all these services that<br />
are FREE for everyone to use?<br />
• Parks are free – make the<br />
most of them, they are the new<br />
green gyms<br />
• Small businesses and schools<br />
can learn about food hygiene<br />
for free<br />
• Entry to the museums is free<br />
• Charities holding fundraising<br />
events can use the parks for<br />
free<br />
• Blue Badge holders can park<br />
free for three hours in council<br />
car parks<br />
• All our play areas, skateboards<br />
parks and the Splash Park are<br />
free to use<br />
• The Tourist Information Centre<br />
has lots of free leaflets<br />
- did you know staff at the<br />
centre can help you book<br />
accommodation, travel and day<br />
trips for free?<br />
• <strong>District</strong> residents aged 65 or<br />
over, can park free for up to<br />
three hours in any <strong>Council</strong> car<br />
park provided a discounted<br />
parking permit is clearly<br />
displayed<br />
• Planning officers will give free<br />
informal advice to<br />
householders who want to<br />
extend their homes and / or<br />
carry out work on listed<br />
buildings<br />
• Road closures can be arranged<br />
free of charge for street parties<br />
and festivals<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Albans</strong> <strong>City</strong> and <strong>District</strong> <strong>Council</strong>
www.stalbans.gov.uk<br />
Graffiti-busters<br />
on their way<br />
A crackdown on graffiti, flyposting and<br />
chewing gum is about to get under way with<br />
the arrival of a new fast response clean-up van.<br />
As part of our Cleaner <strong>District</strong> campaign we<br />
are taking delivery of a specially equipped Ford<br />
Transit van that will be used to respond to calls<br />
about graffiti, flyposting and chewing gum.<br />
Since the adoption of our graffiti removal<br />
policy in October last year contractors have been<br />
called out almost every week.<br />
Most graffiti is cleaned up within seven days<br />
with explicit or racial graffiti and flyposting<br />
removed within 48 hours of being reported.<br />
Removing graffiti can cost between £30 and<br />
£100.<br />
Chewing gum leaves unsightly patches that<br />
blights pavements. The gum has to be removed<br />
using high pressure hot and cold water mixed<br />
with chemicals.<br />
A campaign to get people to bin their gum is<br />
planned for later this year.<br />
Almost one year on from its launch the<br />
Cleaner <strong>District</strong> campaign phoneline is still<br />
running hot.<br />
The team is receiving more than 250 calls a<br />
day from people keen to help us keep the district<br />
clean and tidy by reporting everything from<br />
dumped rubbish to graffiti.<br />
Our museums help to make <strong>St</strong> <strong>Albans</strong> a<br />
different and special place, and attract<br />
visitors into the city.<br />
Did you know?<br />
•<br />
the museum staff deal with hundreds of<br />
enquiries on historical and archaeological<br />
matters<br />
•<br />
the museums collect and preserve local<br />
objects and memories for future generations.<br />
Over a year that may include Roman<br />
burials, photographs of the city and<br />
district a hundred years ago, and sound<br />
recordings of people’s childhood<br />
experiences of <strong>St</strong> <strong>Albans</strong><br />
•<br />
the museums help preserve the<br />
special archaeological<br />
heritage of the district,<br />
conducting excavations to<br />
save important sites from<br />
building development or<br />
ploughing, and keeping a<br />
careful watch elsewhere<br />
Top of the issues being reported are flytipping<br />
and litter, but we have also received calls and e-<br />
mails about damaged street furniture, a build up<br />
of leaves and abandoned vehicles.<br />
There are more than 66 reports of flytipping<br />
each month, a problem that is being tackled with<br />
a new mobile surveillance camera set to catch<br />
culprits at flytipping hot spots. It costs the council<br />
around £30,000 a year to clear up flytipping.<br />
Anyone who wants to report an eyesore can<br />
call the hotline number 0845 125 8000 or e-mail<br />
a report and photos to a.cleanerdistrict@<br />
stalbans.gov.uk.<br />
To find out more about the campaign and what<br />
the council is doing to clean up the district visit<br />
the website at www.stalbans.gov.uk and click on<br />
the link to A Cleaner <strong>District</strong>.<br />
Together we can improve the district<br />
We<br />
Top five calls<br />
Litter<br />
Flytipping<br />
Accumulation of Leaves<br />
• Graffiti<br />
Damaged <strong>St</strong>reet Furniture and Signs<br />
Museums help preserve heritage<br />
It’s a fact<br />
every year over 30,000<br />
children visit the museums as<br />
part of their school studies<br />
<strong>St</strong>riving for<br />
excellence<br />
aim to provide an excellent service to the<br />
people of our district and take complaints<br />
very seriously.<br />
Each year the council has more than 1 million<br />
individual contacts with the public ranging from<br />
helping people make benefit claims to<br />
investigating planning applications.<br />
Despite this enormous volume, only 116<br />
complaints were received last year – that means<br />
only 0.01 per cent of people were not happy with<br />
their contact with us.<br />
Travel for free<br />
Our successful new scheme<br />
provides elderly and disabled<br />
people with free travel on all<br />
journeys starting or finishing<br />
in Hertfordshire. To date<br />
more than 11,000 people have<br />
been issued with passes.<br />
Love it or hate it?<br />
We welcome anything you have to say about<br />
our services. Please send your comments to<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Albans</strong> <strong>City</strong> and <strong>District</strong> <strong>Council</strong>, details<br />
below.<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Albans</strong> <strong>City</strong> & <strong>District</strong> <strong>Council</strong><br />
<strong>District</strong> <strong>Council</strong> Offices, <strong>St</strong> Peter’s <strong>St</strong>reet,<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Albans</strong>, Herts AL1 3JE<br />
Switchboard: 01727 866100<br />
Textphone: 01727 819570<br />
Fax: 01727 856745<br />
Website: www.stalbans.gov.uk<br />
E-mail: feedback@stalbans.gov.uk<br />
Opening hours<br />
Mon - Thurs 8.45am-5.15pm,<br />
Friday 8.45am-4.45pm,<br />
Saturday 9.30am-12.30pm (except Bank<br />
Holiday weekends)<br />
EMERGENCY SERVICE<br />
(outside office hours) 01727 811155<br />
Harpenden Town <strong>Council</strong> Information Point<br />
Town Hall, Leyton Road, Harpenden<br />
Telephone: 01582 768278<br />
Opening hours<br />
Monday-Friday 10am-4pm<br />
Alternative formats<br />
If you would like to receive this newsletter in<br />
an alternative format, such as Braille, or in<br />
another language, please call 01727 819317.<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Albans</strong> <strong>City</strong> and <strong>District</strong> <strong>Council</strong>