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THE COUNCILTHE COUNCIL

MEETINGS

2023/4 Meeting Schedule

  • May 9th (2023) Annual Parish Meeting
  • June 13th
  • July 11th
  • August 8th
  • September 12th
  • October 10th
  • November 14th
  • December 12th
  • January 9th
  • February 13th
  • March 12th
  • April 9th
  • April 30th Annual Parish Meeting
  • May 14th (2024) Annual Parish Council Meeting
CONTACT

Contact the Clerk:

All email correspondence should be addressed to clerk@sarrattparishcouncil.gov.uk
 or telephone (01923) 262025

Visit the Parish Office:

(Located behind the Village Hall)

About the Council

Sarratt Parish includes the village of Sarratt and the neighbouring hamlets of Sarratt Bottom, Belsize, Buck’s Hill, Chandler’s Cross and Micklefield Green. The Parish Council is one of seven local Councils within the Three Rivers District, is subdivided into two wards and comprises of nine volunteer Councillors, a Parish Clerk and Parish Warden. Two of the Councillors hold the positions of Chair and Vice Chair for a 2-year term.

Sarratt Parish Council has a long-established tradition of opting to be independent of political party affiliation. This allows its Councillors to focus on making the best decisions for its residents and the businesses of the Parish for the areas of local government which it is responsible for. These are as follows, with each area led by one of the Councillors, with support from other Councillors.

More...

Policy & Resources – This covers the setting and management of the annual budget for the Council (known as the Precept). It includes the annual awarding of grants to local clubs, societies and projects in the Parish, and all matters relating to the proper management, accounting and auditing of the Council’s finances. Sarratt Parish Council is governed by its Standing Orders and has a large portfolio of policies relating to various aspects of its responsibilities and operations which can be viewed on the Documents page of this site.

Environment – Sarratt Parish makes up 25% of the land mass of the Three Rivers District but has only 2% of the District population. It is entirely Green Belt and includes sections of the Area of Natural Beauty (AONB) that borders the River Chess valley. It also includes two Conservation Areas – Sarratt Green and the area around Holy Cross Church and has some 27 miles of public footpaths and bridleways. The Parish Council is the landowner of numerous woodlands, trees, greens, plus five registered and protected areas of commonland, and supports the KGV recreation ground and children’s play area. The budget to maintain these areas is the largest level of expenditure after staffing and administration costs. Within the Environment agenda, we also include Sustainability, covering new tree planting, sustainable transport options, recycling and opportunities to improve energy efficiency. Sarratt Parish Council also owns 35 allotments located in Sarratt Village which are rented to Parishioners. The Parish Council has a volunteer Footpath Warden (position currently vacant) and acts as the local Agent for the Hertfordshire County Council Rights of Way Unit by undertaking annual maintenance to remove any overgrowing vegetation on footpaths and holding stocks of their posts and gates in order to promptly repair for safety reasons any locations where paths meet the highway.

Planning – Sarratt Parish Council is a statutory consultee for any full planning applications in the Parish submitted to Three Rivers District Council, which means we are invited to provide constructive responses as an input to the planning process. Sarratt Parish Council does not have any planning powers. We review and comment on planning applications at the monthly Parish Council meetings using a checklist-based approach to provide consistency to the response recommended by the Parish Council to the Three Rivers Planning Officers. Sarratt Parish Council is also the sponsor of the Parish Neighbourhood Plan, which is being delivered by an independent working group representing both residents and local businesses Click to visit the Neighbourhood Plan website.

Highways – Maintenance of roads in the Parish is the responsibility of Hertfordshire County Council Highways department. Sarratt Parish Council therefore works closely with the Highways department alerting them to a variety of highway issues raised by its residents, including flooding, potholes and speeding hot spots. More recently we have expanded our remit in this area to include safe cycleways.

The Parish Council meets on the second Tuesday of every month in the Back Room of Sarratt Village Hall at 7:30pm. Members of the public and the Press are welcome to attend these meetings. An Annual Parish Meeting to review the Council’s performance during the previous financial year (April to March) is held in the third week of April.

More details on Sarratt Parish Council, its Councillors, Parish news, minutes of Council meetings, its Policies and other documents are available on this website

To contact the Parish Council, you can send an email to the Clerk, call the Parish Office on 01923 26202 or visit in person. The Parish Office is adjacent to Sarratt Village Hall, accessed via the Hall car park. The opening hours are 8am – 1pm Monday to Thursday.

How the Council is Made Up

  • Chair: Lee Farman
  • Vice Chair: Angela Coakley
  • Lead Councillor, Policy & Resources: Michael Lowry
  • Lead Councillor, Planning: James Alder
  • Lead Councillor, Environment and Sustainability: Philip Mitchell
  • Lead Councillor, Highways: Simon Diggins
  • Deputy Lead Councillor, Highways: David Zerny
  • Vacancy



We still need one new Councillor - have you seen the notices?

The Councillors

Lee Farman, Chair

Lee has lived in S.W. Herts all his life and moved to Sarratt with his family in 2010 when he had the rare opportunity to build an eco house. He recently retired from a career as an IT director and now spends time as a youth drama leader and arts venue management. He is the Chair of the Pump House Theatre and Arts Trust in Watford and founder of the Watford Fringe.
Lee is a passionate environmentalist focusing on practical solutions to reduce our impact and to live sustainably. He enjoys living in Sarratt as a place that takes good care of its environment and has a strong, proud community. As a councillor he hopes to be able to provide some useful support to help Sarratt continue to be a great place for all its community.

Angela Coakley, Vice Chair

Angela moved to Sarratt in December 1999 with her family and her menagerie of animals. She has been a member of the Sarratt Parish Council since 2022. Angela is in full time employment with a local Estate Agents and also continues to run the Community Cafe once a month in the Village hall which she set up in 2018 with a good group of volunteers.  In 2004 she was Licensed as a Minister after completing three years of Ministry training at St Albans Cathedral and has served the local Churches of St Paul’s Chipperfield and Holy Cross Sarratt ever since. When her children were younger she volunteered for the Pony Club and was appointed Assistant District Commissioner for the Old Berkeley Hunt North Branch which is in our Parish. With a great love of the outdoors, Angela holds dear the beautiful countryside we are all privileged to live in. Angela is a great advocate for volunteering and has been instrumental in organizing many Parish Community events, Sarratt Village day being one and also the Platinum Jubilee. Angela is a Trustee and  Administrator for The Sarratt and Chipperfield Community Foundation, which was set up in 2018. The Foundation sets out to be a support to local people, Charities and organizations. Angela has also recently joined the committee for The Days AlmsHouse Trust. Angela, as vice chair, looks forward to playing a supportive role to the chair and continuing the good work within the Parish of Sarratt.

Michael Lowry,
Lead Councillor, Policy and Resources

Michael has now lived in Sarratt for two years recently moving from nearby Croxley Green where he lived with his wife and teenage son for over twenty years.  
A qualified accountant, he has spent most of his career in the large accountancy practices providing client advisory services to both private and public sector organisations. Most notably, his public sector experience includes projects within the former Department of Social Services, Ministry of Defence and the Department of Education. More recently, he has been providing consultancy and project management advice to a newly formed organisation formed from two large local government authorities providing pension administration services to other local authorities.
Michael is currently working remotely from home for a Glasgow based charity and consequently his commute has changed to the daily school run between Sarratt and Rickmansworth. This Scottish charity is supporting and enabling the Government’s ‘Kickstart’ scheme in providing work opportunities for young people both in Scotland and the Northeast of England within the current climate.

James Alder,
Lead Councillor, Planning

Awaiting details

Philip Mitchell,
Lead Councillor, Sustainability and Environment

Awaiting
.

Simon Diggins,
Lead Councillor, Highways

Awaiting Simon's biography

David Zerny,
Deputy Lead Councillor, Highways

David has lived in this area all his life, and was educated at Merchant Taylors’ School, Northwood, and at King’s College, London. He is married to Meike and they have two young children, both at a local school.
David commutes to London where he works in business advisory services. In his spare time, he serves on the executive committees of Sarratt Residents’ Association, the Joint Three Rivers RA, and also the London Green Belt Council.
He is passionate about protecting and enhancing the beautiful environment in which we are so fortunate to live.

Lee Farman, Chair

Lee has lived in S.W. Herts all his life and moved to Sarratt with his family in 2010 when he had the rare opportunity to build an eco house. He recently retired from a career as an IT director and now spends time as a youth drama leader and arts venue management. He is the Chair of the Pump House Theatre and Arts Trust in Watford and founder of the Watford Fringe.
Lee is a passionate environmentalist focusing on practical solutions to reduce our impact and to live sustainably. He enjoys living in Sarratt as a place that takes good care of its environment and has a strong, proud community. As a councillor he hopes to be able to provide some useful support to help Sarratt continue to be a great place for all its community.

Angela Coakley, Vice Chair

Angela moved to Sarratt in December 1999 with her family and her menagerie of animals. She has been a member of the Sarratt Parish Council since 2022. Angela is in full time employment with a local Estate Agents and also continues to run the Community Cafe once a month in the Village hall which she set up in 2018 with a good group of volunteers.  In 2004 she was Licensed as a Minister after completing three years of Ministry training at St Albans Cathedral and has served the local Churches of St Paul’s Chipperfield and Holy Cross Sarratt ever since. When her children were younger she volunteered for the Pony Club and was appointed Assistant District Commissioner for the Old Berkeley Hunt North Branch which is in our Parish. With a great love of the outdoors, Angela holds dear the beautiful countryside we are all privileged to live in. Angela is a great advocate for volunteering and has been instrumental in organizing many Parish Community events, Sarratt Village day being one and also the Platinum Jubilee. Angela is a Trustee and  Administrator for The Sarratt and Chipperfield Community Foundation, which was set up in 2018. The Foundation sets out to be a support to local people, Charities and organizations. Angela has also recently joined the committee for The Days AlmsHouse Trust. Angela, as vice chair, looks forward to playing a supportive role to the chair and continuing the good work within the Parish of Sarratt.

Michael Lowry,
Lead Councillor, Policy and Resources

Michael has now lived in Sarratt for two years recently moving from nearby Croxley Green where he lived with his wife and teenage son for over twenty years.  
A qualified accountant, he has spent most of his career in the large accountancy practices providing client advisory services to both private and public sector organisations. Most notably, his public sector experience includes projects within the former Department of Social Services, Ministry of Defence and the Department of Education. More recently, he has been providing consultancy and project management advice to a newly formed organisation formed from two large local government authorities providing pension administration services to other local authorities.
Michael is currently working remotely from home for a Glasgow based charity and consequently his commute has changed to the daily school run between Sarratt and Rickmansworth. This Scottish charity is supporting and enabling the Government’s ‘Kickstart’ scheme in providing work opportunities for young people both in Scotland and the Northeast of England within the current climate.

James Alder,
Lead Councillor, Planning

Awaiting details

Philip Mitchell,
Lead Councillor, Sustainability and Environment

Awaiting
.

Simon Diggins,
Lead Councillor, Highways

Awaiting Simon's biography

David Zerny,
Deputy Lead Councillor, Highways

David has lived in this area all his life, and was educated at Merchant Taylors’ School, Northwood, and at King’s College, London. He is married to Meike and they have two young children, both at a local school.
David commutes to London where he works in business advisory services. In his spare time, he serves on the executive committees of Sarratt Residents’ Association, the Joint Three Rivers RA, and also the London Green Belt Council.
He is passionate about protecting and enhancing the beautiful environment in which we are so fortunate to live.

Contact the Clerk:

clerk@sarrattparishcouncil.gov.uk
 or telephone (01923) 262025

All email correspondence should be addressed to clerk@sarrattparishcouncil.gov.uk.

Visit the Parish Office:

(Located behind the Village Hall)

Any temporary alterations of these opening times will appear below
Where to Find Us

SPC Meetings take place in the back room of the village hall on the second Tuesday of the month, starting at 7:30. Meetings are open to the public and the Press.

Here, you can read the formal Agenda of the next meeting, the formally-approved Minutes of the previous meeting and a SPC's most recent summary report, as published in Spotlight

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2025
Meeting Schedule

  • January 14th
  • February 11th
  • March 11th
  • April 8th
  • April 22nd ANNUAL PARISH MEETING
  • May 6th ANNUAL STATUTORY MEETING
  • June 10th
  • July 8th
  • August 12th
  • September 9th
  • October 14th
  • November 11th
  • December 9th
    Agenda (Next Meeting)
    Agenda of the Next Meeting

    Date: 13 January 2026



    **AGENDA**


    25/864 APOLOGIES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
    To receive and accept apologies for absence, and any announcements

    25/865 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST AND DISPENSATION

    25/866 PUBLIC QUESTION TIME

    25/867 MINUTES OF THE LAST FULL COUNCIL MEETING ON 9TH DECEMBER 2025
    To agree the Minutes of the last meeting were tree accurate.
    Proposed:
    Seconded:

    25/868 REPORTS FROM COUNCILLORS WHO HAVE ATTENDED MEETINGS ON BEHALF OF SPC

    25/869 CLERK’S ACTIVITIES

    25/870 POLICIES FOR UPDATES
    Memorial Benches and Trees (Apr 24)
    Flag Flying (Jun 24)
    Death of a Significant Figure (Mar 24)
    Metal Detecting (Jun 24)
    Signs and Posters (Apr 24)
    Filming on Parish Land (Apr 24)

    25/871 UPDATED COMMUNCATIONS PLAN


    PLANNING – CLLR FARMAN AND CLLR ALDER

    25/872 TO RECEIVE THE LEAD COUNCILLORS REPORT

    25/873 PLANNING APPLICATIONS

    25/874 PLANNING DECISIONS

    25/875 PLANNING APPEALS


    HIGHWAYS – CLLR DIGGINS AND CLLR ZERNY
    1. Herts Highways works schedule for the 2026-27 financial year:
    Councillors are chasing our county council highways representative for an update following requests made last year for SPC to be consulted about the works schedule and be able to give input. This is especially important in places such as North Hill and Bucks Hill, both of which are badly potholed and need resurfacing as opposed to just patching.

    We also want to discuss speed sign data from Sarratt and Bucks Hill which evidences the high level of traffic on local roads and the need for a long-term, strategic approach to be taken by Herts Highways.

    We will ask again for a meeting between SPC, Councillor Louise Price and an officer from Herts Highways and/ or Ringways.

    An example of the challenges faced is a case where a dangerous pothole on an unlit, narrow section of road at Bucks Hill was reported to Herts Highways in December. It was eventually repaired after repeated efforts by Cllr Zerny to alert the authorities to the danger to road users posed by the pothole. (Lena, is it possible to show the images I shared, or could I put them up on the screen on Tuesday?)

    2. Road signage
    Following reports of HGVs using weight- restricted local roads when the
    M25 was closed overnight for repairs over the course of a week last August, we requested details of Herts Highways' signage assets within our parish and at nearby bottlenecks. These include the entrance to Solesbridge Lane from the A404, Redhall Lane, Fir Tree Hill and Old House Lane. Again, we are chasing for a response.

    3. Flooding at Bucks Hill
    Councillor Zerny is investigating reports of flood water coming off the highway at Bucks Hill into a resident's driveway. This follows new drainage being laid by Herts Highways last summer in an effort to address flooding, but concerns were raised at the time about the need for regular drain cleaning.







    25/876 TO RECEIVE THE LEAD COUNCILLORS REPORT


    25/877 BUCKS HILL


    ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY – CLLR MITCHELL

    25/878 REPORT FROM LEAD COUNCILLOR

    25/879 SIGNAGE IN SARRATT


    POLICY AND RESOURCES – CLLR LOWRY

    25/880 DECEMBER BANK RECONCILIATION AND PAYMENTS £
    Agree and sign reconciliation and statement of payments and receipts.
    Proposed:
    Seconded:

    25/881 FINAL SPC GRANTS

    25/882 INTERNAL AUDIT

    25/883 SPC QUARTER THREE RESULTS FY 25/26.



    25/884 TO RECEIVE A REPORT FROM DISTRICT COUNCILLOR REED

    25/885 CORRESPONDENCE

    25/886 COUNCILLORS QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS

    25/887 DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING FEBRUARY 10TH 20
    Minutes(Last Meeting)
    Most Recent formally-approved Minutes
    Spotlight Report
    SPC Spotlight Report (draft minutes of last meeting)

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