"Club doesn't belong in Bushey", say Lib Dems.

Bushey's Lib Dem councillors have pledged to fight tooth and nail against plans by Watford FC to build a new stadium on Bushey Hall Golf Course.

The football club, and course owners Veladail Leisure, are bidding to add the site to the borough's commercial development plan - and propose to build a stadium, arena, cinema and hotel in the heart of Bushey's greenbelt.

Bushey Liberal Democrats have been working hard with residents to oppose plans for Watford FC to move to Bushey - and specifically, to build their new stadium on Bushey Hall Golf Course.

In a new development, the course's owners - Veladail Leisure - have now formally put the site forward for potential inclusion in Hertsmere borough's local plan.

On Thursday 18th March Hertsmere Borough Council officers and elected members held a virtual session to update the local community on their plans for the former Bushey Country Club site.

Council leaders have somehow managed to devise a plan for Bushey Country Club which ignores everything residents called for - and has precious little benefit for the local community. They ran a long public consultation process but rejected its finding

From my long experience in local government, I know the positive impact that can be achieved when socially-responsible people work together at a local level. I want to help make a better Bushey while protecting our green spaces, environment, and local heritage.

Most of my working life was in social housing; my last job was as Director of housing needs in a large London borough ensuring fair access and promotion of opportunities to those in the greatest need. Following retirement, I have been arbitrating on homelessness disputes between local authorities.

Only 2 in 1000 asked for a school

Hertsmere's Tory council leaders have ignored residents' views on the future of Bushey Country Club. They held a public consultation but took no notice of what local people said. They want to dominate the site with a 1,900 pupil school which the community barely needs and hasn't asked for. They want to shut the public out of at least half the open space. And they refuse to answer questions about how many new homes will be built, or how many will be affordable.

In the last few days we've visited and reported seven fly-tipping sites in and around Bushey. Two are on Berry Grove Lane and three are off the A41. Another is in Hillfeld Lane South. Our thanks to residents who've helped with this work. We've told council officers about each site, and hopefully they will clear the waste as soon as resources allow.Several of the sites are very unpleasant - with large quantities of domestic and trade waste, including household appliances, cables, bedding, and building debris, dumped among trees and vegetation. The photo above, with our campaigner Alan Matthews, was at a field off the A41.
Fly-tipping is not just unsightly but harmful for the environment and dangerous for wildlife. And it seems like it's currently on the rise in Bushey.

Liberal Democrats in the East of England have called on the Government to reinstate the EnAble Fund for disabled candidates running for public office.

With political campaigning made more difficult because of Covid-19, disabled candidates are unfairly disadvantaged. The current Conservative Government should fulfil the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, which states disabled people have the right to 'participate effectively and fully in political life on an equal basis with others.'

Adam Robertson, Diversity Lead for East of England Liberal Democrats, said:

Dear David,

As Police and Crime Commissioner you have overseen the police force in Hertfordshire for the past 8 years, holding the Chief Constable to account and ensuring the service is pursuing your strategic direction.

It is very important to us that everybody, no matter who they are, receives an equal service and that officers are appropriately supported to do their jobs in the most effective way possible. You will be very aware of the Macpherson Review, which came following the murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993, which produced a total of 70 recommendations for reform.

Hertfordshire County Council officers have today confirmed to Liberal Democrat county councillors that the government has cut direct grant funding for the Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA), the body responsible for sorting out surface water flooding across the county.

Officers confirmed that the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) had 'rolled in' the previously separate LLFA grant into the Revenue Support Grant (RSG), a general pot. When asked, officers confirmed the RSG was precisely the same value as before.