STOP PRESS
The County Council is going to sell the Ariston site (including the Lower Heath) but have given an undertaking that the 2001 Planning Brief will be upheld, giving the public unrestricted access to the Lower Field. Any developer will need to heed that proviso.
St Albans District Council has also given the same undertaking and we have had support from local councillors of all parties (see Herts Advertiser 24th November). This is all very encouraging but we shall continue to be vigilant especially when news of bids is made public.
You may also have seen in the press that the new community school on Hatfield Road does not require any of the Lower Heath as a playing field. The distance and safety aspects of such a journey for young children was always going to be a problem for them.
Countryside Management Services Volunteer Session
On Wednesday 7th December CMS will be bringing some volunteers to clear undergrowth and maybe do some planting. It would be lovely if local residents could lend a hand if they are free. The time and place are from 10am, meeting outside Heath House.
Bernards Heath is a unique green space, close to the centre of St Albans, consisting of playing and sports fields and established woodlands that harbour a wide variety of wildlife. (Click here and here to see maps of the Heath.) It has a fascinating history dating back to pre-Roman times and is the site of the Second Battle of St Albans (1461), one of the major battles of the Wars of the Roses. In Victorian times, the area round the Harpenden Road was the site of claypits and brick making from which much of this part of St Albans is built.
In 1915 the Heath (except for the lower field) was designated as common land and saved for the public for ever. In 2001, following a campaign to prevent development of the lower field, Hertfordshire County Council, the owner, and St Albans District Council agreed that the general public would have unrestricted access to the lower field in perpetuity.
Bernards Heath is managed according to a Green Space Action Plan by a partnership that includes the District Council, the County Council, Countryside Management Service and the Friends of Bernards Heath. Most of the routine maintenance is funded by the District Council but certain special projects are funded partly or wholly by the Friends.
The Friends of Bernards Heath believe that the Heath provides an exceptional natural amenity for the locality. The Society exists in order to protect, preserve and, where appropriate, enhance the Heath for the benefit of the neighbourhood as a whole. Membership provides you with a forum to express your opinions about the Heath and an opportunity to help preserve it for future generations.
This image was taken from Google Earth® on 4 August 2009