Agenda item

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 28 January 2026.

The Minutes of the meeting held on 28 January were agreed by the Committee, with the additional points included:

• Members asked officers to provide details of where cycling is permitted and prohibited in the town centre and local parks, the Director for Planning and Regulation agreed to report back to Members with this information
• Regarding light leakage from street lighting columns, it was noted that the angle of the light is now far narrower than before, could this be reported to Hertfordshire County Council as the highways authority to see if this is adjustable or can be remedied in any way
• Regarding the Infrastructure Delivery Plans Members asked how well integrated this was with the Local Plan? The Director for Planning and Regulation said that the Infrastructure Delivery Plan was last updated in 2024 and could be updated this year
• Members noted that there has been no effective monitoring of the 2018 Cycle Strategy nor has there been any data collected, this would need to change as part of any update. Members noted that there had been some data provided from Beryl bike hire usage, but this was limited to just where users have hired the bikes from fixed points. There is some data available from the 2021 Census, but this underestimates the number of cyclists
• Officers to note that the South of the town seems to be missing a lot from the Arts and Heritage Trail
• Members asked for a report back on how the secure cycle parking at the railway station was performing and the Director for Planning and Regulation agreed to report back to Members on this, with a view to learn from this for future provision of secure cycle storage elsewhere in the town
• Members asked Officers to report back on what counts as a mobility aid and who can legally use the cycleways
• Regarding Beryl Bikes, Members asked for a detailed update be brought back to the Committee on usage and future developments
• Members noted that cyclists often can’t cycle to their destinations. The cycleways were great for recreation and exercise but were limited for transport. There needs to be a north south route and into the town centre
• Members noted previous planning mistakes like the location of Tesco and Costco which broke up previous continuous sections of the cycleways
• Members noted that the cycleways don’t go everywhere in the town, therefore cyclists need to use the roads which need to be safe for cyclists
• Members commented on the fact that cycle parking was no longer provided in the cycling prohibition area in the town centre, which causes a problem for those cyclists that carry shopping or want to have their cycle close to where they are shopping for security reasons
• Members noted that the current prohibition of cycling in the town centre excludes responsible cyclists from possible solutions as it focuses on those who ignore the ban
• Members stated that being able to cycle all the way to the cycle parking was a reasonable expectation

The following Recommendation wording to be amended as follows:

• Cycling Access in the Town Centre & responsible use and management of the Cycle Network
  That officers, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder, explore improvements to cyclist access up to the town centre, including safe routing around the town centre and appropriate secure cycle parking provision and that they engage with cyclists and relevant stakeholders to encourage responsible use of the network and consulting on parking and access issues within the town centre

·         Single Point of Officer Responsibility
That a single, named officer (or dedicated role/Member champion) be identified to lead on implementation, monitoring, and reporting of the Cycling Strategy and associated action plan, and that the Cabinet Portfolio for Transport and the Director of Planning and Regulation investigate ways that this can be funded for a fixed period ahead of the new unitary authority being established under Local Government Reorganisation