Jackmans Neighbourhood Plan
Across October and into November, we gathered feedback from Jackmans residents in a variety of ways, including surveys, ideas boards, the map tool, eight Neighbourhood Action Week events, and The Big Door Knock.
We’re pleased to share an update on the progress we’ve made so far based on your feedback, which will play a key role in shaping the draft Neighbourhood Plan for Jackmans.
When we asked for your thoughts on the five key areas we had previously identified as being important to your community, you told us that they didn’t fully reflect what matters most (scroll down to see what those five key areas were). Based on what you said, we’ve now revised these areas and updated the actions, which are outlined in the tables below.
These actions are still in the planning stage and may evolve further, but we want to keep you informed as we continue to develop them.
Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB)
| You said... | What we're doing... |
|---|---|
| Many drug issues with minimal support for addiction. | We're looking to arrange a community safety event alongside our partner agencies which will focus on anti-social behaviour, hate crime, and addiction support. If you feel unsafe in your home or community and need support, please let us know here. |
| Sometimes I feel unsafe. | |
| There is anti-social behaviour in and around the flats and communal areas. | We're working closely with the neighbourhood team to review and improve our anti-social behaviour service. You can find out more about what they're doing here. |
| There is a lack of lighting that encourages anti-social behaviour. | Our neighbourhood teams are looking to work with North Herts Council (NHC) to improve lighting across Jackmans. |
| You'd like a review of the CCTV across the estate. | We're looking to work closely with North Herts Council (NHC) to review the effectiveness of the cameras. |
Community
| You said... | What we're doing... |
|---|---|
| You'd like more affordable youth activities. | We're currently reviewing what's already available in the community and how we can best support local groups and the community centre to communicate these activities. |
| You'd value having a wider range of activities in Jackmans. | |
| You'd like to see improvements to the community centre. | We're looking to meet with the community centre and North Herts Council (NHC) to discuss options. |
| Ivel Court is a dull and uninviting area. | During October and November 2024, we planted over 100 plants and made improvements to three areas of lighting at Ivel Court. Our neighbourhood partners are now exploring options for further improvements. |
We wanted to acknowledge some comments regarding improving the play area behind Jarden. The play area is owned by North Herts Council, if you'd like to know more about this, you can contact them directly.
Grounds Maintenance and Cleanliness
| You said... | What we're doing... |
|---|---|
| There is a lot of litter and fly tipping. | After receiving a lot of interest, we've decided to form a resident-led litter picking group. We'll keep you posted when we've got more news... |
| There are a lot of overgrown areas that aren't being maintained. | We're working with our estates team and partners on this. You can find more details about what we're doing here. |
| The cleaning standards in communal areas and blocks are not meeting residents' expectations. | |
| The bin areas in communal blocks are overflowing and aren't being collected frequently enough. | We'll share this feedback with North Herts Council. We're committed to working with local partners to help improve the area. |
| There is not enough bike and buggy storage in the communal area. | We're working with our estates team to make the most out of our current bike storage and maximise its use. |
Parking and Traffic
| You said... | What we're doing... |
| There aren't enough parking spaces in some areas, which is leading to cars parking on corners on grass verges. | We're looking at options to create parking bays where possible. 🐣 |
| There isn't enough parking at Ivel Court. | |
| There are a lot of speeding cars, particularly near the school. | We're working with our local partners and the police to address this matter. |
| There are road maintenance issues, including potholes. | These roads are managed by Herts County Council. You can report, view, or discuss local problems on Fix My Street. These reports immediately get sent to the relevant authority. |
October - November 2024
A huge thank you to all Jackmans residents for your involvement in the recent Neighbourhood Action Weeks and Big Door Knock visits!🙏🏼
Between 16 October and 8 November, we hosted various activities in Jackmans, focusing on the five key areas that residents identified as most important to them.
Through 700 Big Door Knock visits, community centre drop-ins, and a number of events as part of our Neighbourhood Action Weeks, here's what we learned from you...
These insights will shape your Neighbourhood Plan, which will outline key improvements and priorities for making your community safer, more welcoming, and a happier place to live.
We also wanted to respond to some concerns raised about the maintenance of the grounds, paths and roads in Jackmans. Some of this land is owned by Highways or North Herts Council. For areas we don't own but you've highlighted as needing improvement, we've passed along your comments to the relevant authorities. We'll share any updates from them as soon as we hear back!
Previously...
Between April 2023 to September 2024 we received valuable feedback from residents, helping us identify the areas that matter most in your community. We gained this feedback through Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSM's), Neighbourhood Action Weeks, Big Door Knocks, complaints, transactional surveys and more.
Here are the five key areas that were previously highlighted:
- A call for more community initiatives
- Anti-social behaviour concerns
- More litter picking and improved grounds maintenance
- Improved bin areas
- Residents’ meeting opportunities
We asked residents to let us know if they agreed with the five key areas above, or if they'd like us to focus elsewhere.
A message from Joe Williams, Executive Director of Customer Services
"I encourage all residents to join in on these important discussions, whether at community events or here on Settle Connect.
Your participation is key to making sure the commitments we make genuinely reflect the needs of your community and local neighbourhood. Where we are not directly responsible for an area or service, we will aim to work with the partners to make improvements." — Joe Williams
At Settle we are relentlessly resident focused. Our aim is to provide homes residents are proud of and build communities that are welcoming to all.
Our 2030 plan has been developed by feedback from residents, colleagues, and local partners with priorities and commitments shaped by what we know is important to you and your community. Neighbourhood Plans empower you to have a say in how we deliver the 2030 vision in your area.
We believe that working together with residents and community partners can create real opportunities for positive change in your neighbourhood.
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Redevelopment of 3-5 Newells in Letchworth
In October 2021, we invited local residents to a consultation event to discuss our plans for the redevelopment of properties 3, 4 and 5 Newells on the Jackmans estate in Letchworth Garden City. The intention was to submit a planning application to redevelop these homes into a new block of 15 one and two-bedroom apartments.Due to some unforeseen circumstances the process was delayed.
We are now ready to move forward with submission of a planning application this spring.
Background
The three properties, 3-5 Newells, are currently empty and would require significant investment to return them to a decent, lettable standard. We therefore started to explore the opportunity to redevelop these existing homes to provide a three-storey building of one and two-bedroom apartments, reflecting the acute demand for this type of accommodation on the local housing register. The redevelopment will retain communal, green space as well as vehicle, cycle and pedestrian access, in order to serve the nearby allotments and Greenway.
Our commitment at settle is to work with partners to provide good quality homes that respond to the needs of our residents, and to invest in neighbourhoods and communities. This ambition, coupled with our commitment to invest in sustainable homes, means we will use this opportunity to ensure these homes are zero carbon in use, reducing their impact on the environment and resulting in drastically reduced bills.
Consultation
We invited neighbouring residents to review our initial proposals and designs for the redevelopment, to ask questions and share any feedback through an open consultation and virtual platform for those who could not physically attend the event.
Overall, the plans were well received. Any concerns were predominantly around our plans for the garage compound and the impact of the additional homes on the availability of car parking.
Through developing the design, we’ve sought to take on board these concerns as much as is possible. To address the concerns around car parking (as this seemed really important to everyone) we’re proposing to use two small areas of amenity lawn, hedging and hardstanding to provide an additional 13 parking spaces.
We’ve also incorporated feedback from pre-application advice from the North Hertfordshire Council into our designs, particularly around the size of the block and its potential for being visually dominant on the corner of Pryor Way. Re-designing the balconies, roof profile and looking at materials intended to be used has reduced the visual impact of the block.
A full summary of the questions and feedback can be seen below
Whilst the consultation period with settle has closed (October 2021), we’re still here to answer any questions you may have, so please get in touch by emailing newells@settlegroup.org.uk or by calling us on 0330 3430016.
There will also be a 21-day statutory consultation period as part of the planning process, where you will be invited to comment directly by North Hertfordshire Council.
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Jackmans: Planning application submitted for new flats
A planning application has been submitted to build new flats in Letchworth's Jackmans
Estate.
