Bad decision

Published: 11:20 AM March 26, 2009 Updated: 2:40 PM November 1, 2020

SIR, — Once again, a group of councillors, most of whom don t live in Radlett and who won t have to live with the consequences of their actions, have made a decision that will have a catastrophic effect on Radlett. I am talking about last week s planning

SIR, - Once again, a group of councillors, most of whom don't live in Radlett and who won't have to live with the consequences of their actions, have made a decision that will have a catastrophic effect on Radlett.

I am talking about last week's planning meeting at the council offices in Borehamwood concerning the plans to rebuild Radlett Synagogue, two-and-a-half times the size of the original building at the old Village Hall at 22, Watling Street. I attended the planning meeting on January 22 and noted that a number of roads including private roads were discussed regarding parking problems for the synagogue. No mention was made of Park Road which is the nearest road to the site and is where my parents have lived for some 70 years.

It was obvious that the main stumbling block for the expansion of the synagogue was that the congregation had clearly outgrown the site in Watling Street. However, it was agreed that planning permission be granted subject to a solution to the parking problem being found.

At last week's meeting it appeared that all those who voted agreed that a solution to the parking problem had not been forthcoming but they would vote to allow the planning to go ahead anyway, thus making a mockery of planning procedure.

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Has the world gone mad? So much for democracy. While it is understandable that the congregation should wish to extend their existing facilities, the problem of parking is clearly insuperable. It would appear that the residents of Park Road, who have for many years been plagued with parking problems, are once again going to bear the consequences of this bad decision.

While having every sympathy with the congregation in wishing to acquire a suitable facility, it must be clear that the current site offers no solution to their problem. This is the second disastrous decision made by councillors who don't live in Radlett recently, the first being the closure of our community fire station which almost everyone in the community wants back.