Smannell Parish Council meeting

This evening I attended, as an observer, the bimonthly meeting of Smannell Parish Council. The agenda and program of activities shows what can be achieved by a local community when given control of their own affairs. Among items discussed were the Little London Playing Fields and the council’s palns to refurbish and upgrade them with developer (section 106) funding, actions to improve local roads and an ambitious Smannell Healthy Living Plan.

All of this can be undertaken by any parish or town council and I look forward to the day when residents of Andover (through their town council) can have the same freedom to control their neighbourhoods as do the residents of the parishes around the town.

Also on the agenda was the co-option of Stephen West of Little London on to the council.  My congratulations to him  on his appointment and to the council for proceding with his co-option despite unecessary objections and calls for a postponement of the decision  from a sole member of the public.

Alamein kids a credit to the community

This morning I attended the graduation ceremony for Knights Enham Junior School at The Lights. I was impressed by the ceremony and the turnout and behaviour of all the children who attended. The school, Mrs Hughes, the head teacher, all the other teachers and staff, and of course their parents should be proud of them. Good luck to all of you graduates for the future.

This afternoon I joined the Amazing Alamein Environment Group with children from Roman Way school to carry out a litter pick around the school. Once again the behaviour was exemplary. Their showed a real pride in their area and a real commitment to cleaning it and keeping it clean. Over the two hour period we collected 38 sacks of rubbish. Well done to all the participants.

Having listened so often to criticism of local children I am pleased to report the criticisms are exaggerated and the future generation are and will be a credit to their community.

Sport revolution going round in circles?

A month after the Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s announcement of plans for a ‘Sports Revolution’ in England, Test Valley Tories are raising concerns about how this initiative will be funded.

Councillor Caroline Nokes, says: “Of course any proposals to encourage more children and over 60s to become more active are welcome, but the costs shouldn’t fall on local Council Taxpayers.  The scheme should be wholly funded by central government. It is regrettable that we are still waiting for the details to be released. As soon as we have confirmation that it will be fully funded, the Council will be taking it forward with enthusiasm.”

While I applaud Mrs Noakes concern not to spend TVBC money unecessarily her response seems more concerned with toe-ing party lines to not implement government policies than with seeking the best for local children.

It would help if she were tell us what the likely cost to us would be, after all the swimming pools are open and heated whether they are being used or not. It would also be appropriate if this sort of decision were discussed by the council as a whole before she issues a press release stating Test Valley councillors are concerned about the costs when she hasn’t actually consulted us.

Environmental meetings

Climate change affects us all

Interest in Environmnetal issues in Andover is increasing. As previously reported here the next meeting of the Amazing Alamein group takes place this evening at 6:00pm at King Arthur’s Hall. Come along you will be amazed at what the local community can achieve.

Amazing Alamein also have a litter pick planned for next Tuesday (15th) at 3:00 – 5:30, meet outside Roman Way school. Further details tonight or contact me.

This coming Friday (11th July) the Andover Area Christian Ecology Link are holding an evening of information entitled “Climate Change – why we should care and what we can do”. 

The meeting, introduced by Rev Jill Bentall is at St Thomas’ Community Hall, Charlton and starts at 7:30pm. Speakers include Anton Page of Test Valley Friends of the Earth and Rebecca Windwood of the Envirnment Centre.

I’m not sure I can make this one myself but having attended previous talks by Anton I can recommend what I am sure will be an entertaining and informtive meeting.

Funfair returns to Smannell Road

Smannell Road Play Area

The funfair will return to Smannell Road in September. Residents will remember that the fair planned for April was cancelled at the last minute because water board contractors ploughed up the area to lay mains for the new development at East Anton.

I have been in contact with the fair operators and Test Valley Leisure Department and confirmed the fair will be able to use the site on 11th to 13th September as originally planned. As reported previously on this website the operators have agreed (at my request) additional facilities for fairgoers and will be working closely with police and council wardens to deter trouble makers.

The site is currently still in a state of disrepair but contractors will be working on it to restore it to its previous standard (of grass rather than mud) as soon as possible.

The folly of biofuels

Grain for biofuel

As a chemist working in the food industry for the past 35 years I have always had doubts about the viability and morality of biofuels. To devote vast acreages of land to the generation of plants solely for the production of fuels for cars when millions do not have enough food to eat is both selfish and irresponsible.

It was interesting to read therefore on Friday that a World Bank report study has shown that biofuel production has forced world food prices up by 75%. The figure contradicts US government claims that biofuels contribute less than 3% to food price rises. But who believes a US government run by the oil industry and its puppet.

Robert Bailey, a policy adviser at Oxfam is quoted in the Guardian as saying “Political leaders seem intent on suppressing the strong evidence that biofuels are a major factor in recent food price rises.” The study has identified three ways in which biofuels have distorted the price of foods. First it has diverted grain away from food with over a third of US corn and half of EC vegetable oil used to produce biofuel. Second farmers are being encouraged to set aside land for fuel production and third it has sparked speculation in grain prices.

Reports today suggest prime minister Gordon Brown is setting himself up for a potential clash with US officials by calling for a moratorium on biofuel production at least from grain crops. This is of course too little to late from a government which has for too long been subservient to the US government and its oil industry.

What is needed is an alternative policy which encourages reduction of use of carbon based fuels all of which contribute to global warming and all of which are not in the long term economically or environmentally sustainable.

Hampshire Tory Budget Panic

Hampshire Conservatives over-charged council tax payers this year so they could bribe the voters with a lower increase next year – County election year. They denied it at the time, but now the truth is out. They have also announced some modest improvements to services to try to distract people from the major service cuts they are making. After increasing the council tax by 4.5% this year, when it was not  necessary to do so, they have now announced that the increase in election year will be 3.0%.

Liberal Democrat Group Leader on the County Council, Cllr Adrian Collett, said: “People are currently feeling the pain of the massive £43.38 Hampshire council tax hike this year – the last thing they needed when fuel prices are shooting up and the economy is struggling. This is having a particularly harsh impact on people on fixed  incomes, such as pensioners, who can do little about it but pay up and cut back on other things such as heating and food. Yet the Tories  think they can con people by having a lower increase during election year. People are not stupid and will see through this Con-trick.”

 “The truth is that council tax didn’t need to go up so much this year, but the Tories wanted to get the money into the bank. In fact Hampshire has over £120 million of council tax payers money stashed away, much of which is only there due to over-charging now so that  future increases can be lower. How very cynical! The modest improvements to services are dressed up to sound good but while of course they are welcome, they don’t make up for the major cuts.”

“£1 million extra for pot holes sounds good, but until this year the County Council had been putting £3 million extra per year into highway  maintenance, so this really means that the cut is only £2 million  instead of £3 million. £400,000 for carpets and double glazing in residential homes is also  welcome as far as it goes, but Hampshire should be properly refurbishing all its care homes to bring them up to proper modern  standards. Instead of that seven homes have been closed down due to  lack of money to refurbish them, while the Conservatives allocate 100  times this £400,000 (over £40 million) on modernising their Winchester ivory tower. Comfortable offices in Winchester are more important to them than modernising our care homes.”

“Is there any proposal here to reopen any of the closed care homes? No! Or to reinstate the £1 million cut in the Casualty Reduction Programme? No! Or to prevent this summer’s major round of bus service cuts (the fourth major round of bus cuts)? No. Any improvements to much-needed services are to be welcomed, but this is just a pre-election Con-trick!” he concluded.

Story supplied by Cllr Adrian Collett – Liberal Democrat Group Leader on Hampshire County Council

20mph Speed limits to sweep across Britain

Twenty’s plenty

The speed limit on thousands of residential roads will be reduced to 20mph under government moves designed to cut road deaths by a third over the next decade. Variable limits will be introduced on main roads near schools, with digital signs ordering drivers to cut their speed to 20mph or less when pupils are arriving or departing. Many local councils are also experimenting with 20mph speed limits on residential roads, outside playgrounds and in other high risk areas.

Your Alamein Lib Dem team firmly supports measures to control excessive speeds outside our local schools at Knights Enham, Roman Way, Shepherds Spring and Smannell schools. I am currently working with Smannell parish council to introduce traffic calming outside Smannell School to be funded by developers’ contributions from East Anton.

I will also campaign for similar controls in other residential areas where there is a local demand for such limits. Tell me what you think. Would you support 20mph speed limits where you live? Are there other areas where additional traffic calming is needed?

MP condemns parking charges

Chantry centre carpark

Romsey MP Sandra Gidley has condemned Test Valley’s recent increase in parking charges as “cynical and counter productive.”

“With petrol prices hitting 117p a litre across Hampshire” she says “visitors will be harder to attract to towns like Romsey and Andover. The Conservative controlled council’s move to introduce large increase in car parking charges in a post election year is both cynical and ill timed.”

 The higher charges are an extra tax on those who make essential journeys into town and could well drive shoppers away to larger towns.

Mrs Gidley added “We are at the start of a make-or-break opportunity for many businesses struggling to stay afloat. It seems perverse that the council is undermining their own efforts to help businesses at this crucial time by slapping large increases on parking charges.”

The increased charges were introduced to fill the large hole in council revenues left by the poor returns from rents on the borough’s run down industrial estates.

Local Labour party spokesmen have yet to comment on the increase in parking charges or on the government’s failure to manage fuel prices.

Rats threaten recycling trials

Food digester

Rather than follow the lead given by Lib Dem Eastleigh borough council in collecting and recycling food waste separately Test Valley Tories decised to carry out trials on home food digesters. The wisdom of this decison has now been brought into question as a digester  in North Baddesley has become a magnet for rats.

Borough councillor Ann Tupper volunteered to trial one of the new waste digesters in her garden. “I thought it would be advantageous for me and for North Baddesley” she said. The digester cone was installed as instructed and filled with food waste. In January and February she noticed a hole and then more holes appeared. “We’ve got a rat” her husband said.

Attempts to poison the rats failed and eventually Ann asked for the cone to be removed. The waste had not decomposed and rats had burrowed in and feasted on the contents of the digester. “It’s not just one rat, its Aunty Flo and the whole family” she said.

The news comes only weeks after Test Valley Tories announced they would no longer providing a free rat control service.

As a result of pressure from Lib Dem councillors Test Valley are inviting representatives from Eastleigh to come and talk to us about how they have achieved the highest recycling rate in Hampshire.