Working for Pilgrims Way

Local residents in Pilgrims Way have expressed their delight at the work being done in the area to improve the environment.

Lib Dem councillors Katherine Bird and Nigel Long are working with Aster Housing, Test Valley Borough Council and Hampshire County Council to get action for Pilgrims Way.

Many road signs have already been replaced, and the remainder will be changed in the next few years. All the trees on the estate will be surveyed and overgrown trees will be cut back or removed.

Safety has been improved around the electricity substation and the surrounds tidied.

Katherine and Nigel are also seeking funding for an additional footpath along the spine road. “We’ll keep pressing the local Councils to get things done for local residents,” Katherine said.

Labour out of race

As the Police and Crime Commissioner election day approaches, local residents are asking the question – who will really stand up for our area and keep us safe?

The choice for local people is between the hardworking experienced Lib Dem David Goodall, and the Conservative
candidate with links to a jailed £29 million fraudster. Labour and UKIP came a distant third and fourth place last time
and can’t win in our area.

The Liberal Democrats have a proven record of action for local people, from working to reduce anti-social behaviour, getting road safety improvements, and fighting for local services. In contrast, Hampshire Conservatives are cutting services used by the most vulnerable – the youth service, children’s centres, care for the elderly and bus passes
are all at risk.

The Conservative’s Police & Crime Commissioner candidate doesn’t even have the backing of his own party – several prominent local Tories have called on him to stand down.

The only real alternative to the discredited Tory is David Goodall. To read David’s manifesto click here.
pcc-manifesto

Police investigate Tory candidate

Thames Valley police are reported to be investigating whether the Tory candidate for police commissioner in Hampshire has committed electoral fraud by misrepresenting his home address.

Michael Mates openly admits to living in West Sussex but has declared his address as a flat he rents in Winchester. Candidates must live within Hampshire both at the time of nomination and on the date of the election. For more details visit election fraud investigation

More grit please


With winter on the way, Lib Dems have been pressing Hampshire County Council to make sure there is enough grit bins around our towns and villages.

In recent years Andover has been left without enough road rock salt leading to chaos on our roads and cancelled bus services because Hampshire County Council failed to get their act together and provide enough grit bins. In other areas, Councils provide free grit supplies for residents to use on their local paths, roads and pavements, making sure that everyone is well prepared for the cold weather.

With £300 million of taxpayers’ money in the bank, local residents are hoping that the Conservative-run County learn from other areas and at least provide grit for the bins they’ve already installed.

If you know of any public place that needs a grit bin please let your Lib Dem team know!

who will you trust on crime?

November’s important Police and Crime Commissioner election will decide the future of policing in our area.

Here in Andover it’s a straight choice between the Conservatives, who have let down Hampshire residents on crime and failed to protect front-line police from cuts, or the Lib Dems who have stood up against County waste and cuts and campaigned to keep front-line police on our streets!

The Conservatives running Hampshire have the wrong priorities. They voted to make further cuts to the police budget just days after a resident was shot in both legs by armed raiders, ignoring warnings from the Chief Constable that this could remove 100 police officers from our streets. Across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Labour and UKIP are always out of the race and can’t win. It’s a choice between experienced campaigner David Goodall or the Conservative candidate with links to a jailed £29million fraudster.

Experienced police campaigner David Goodall will work hard to protect your home and family as Hampshire’s first elected Police Commissioner. David is son to a retired Hampshire police inspector and brother to a serving officer, and is promising a fresh and effective approach to making our homes and streets safer. Hampshire Councillor David wants action to bring local people and police closer together to deal with problems of crime and anti-social behaviour. David will make sure we get maximum resources to frontline policing, working with communities to make sure that those resources are used where they are needed most.

November’s election is a straight choice – sorting out the future of policing in our area or even more broken promises, funding cuts and YOUR money wasted!

Don’t rubbish our recycling

Local campaigners in Andover are backing European Member of Parliament Catherine Bearder’s campaign to ensure waste is managed responsibly and not exported to third world countries. Many local councils have already signed up to the campaign I hope Hampshire and Test Valley will do the same.

Visit http://resourceassociation.com/support-end-destinationrecycling-charter for more this campaign!

Back our campaign to protect our childrens futures

Local campaigners across Andover have backed the Lib Dem campaign to force the County Council chiefs to sort out the school places shortfall and protect our children’s centres from cuts. Test Valley Lib Dem campaigner Alan Dowden has supported parents’ calls for answers as to why the County failed to listen to warnings that there would be a massive shortfall in school places.

Alan said, “It was obvious that there would be a shortfall in places for our children but the County failed to act. Temporary classrooms are not the answer, it’s a backwards step.” Romsey campaigner Sandra Gidley added, “With this school places crisis, cuts in the youth service, and children’s centres under threat, it’s clear that Hampshire’s next generation are being let down by the County Council.”

Join the campaign to protect our children’s future by emailing your support to me at [email protected] and deliver a message to County chiefs: our children are being let down by County mismanagement and waste.

BROADBAND “NOTSPOTS”

Local residents and businesses have been left in communication ‘blackout’, after major delays in broadband improvements for many areas in Hampshire. Residents in so-called broadband ‘notspots’ have told Hampshire Lib Dems that during the late afternoon and evening there is often no connection at all, making life very difficult. Children can’t do their homework- (which is increasingly online), elderly people find that they can’t
shop online (which is so useful when they can no longer use the car), and small businesses and charities cannot function properly without broadband.

Belinda Mitchell, National Volunteer Co-ordinator for Help for Heroes, has been badly affected by the the broadband shortfall. She finds it incredibly
frustrating because where she lives, there is often no service at all after 4.30pm. ‘

One bright spot is in Smannell and Little London where local campaigners, working with borough and county council officers, have made major improvements to services. As a member of the Smannell action group I want to see Hampshire County Council follow the example in Smannell and get on with improving the County’s broadband coverage.

The County Council were handed £8.4 million by the government to install new and faster Internet connections to prevent harder-to reach communities being left behind in the digital age. Yet a year later there are areas still suffering slow speeds and even blackouts. Residents and businesses are suffering because of these delays. Residents expect action from the County Council, and an end to broadband black outs!

SCHOOLS SHAMBLES

Parents in Andover have been shocked by the news that Hampshire County Council local schools will be around 10,000 school places short within the next Decade, and won’t even have enough places for all the reception year children this September. The Conservative led County Council have admitted that there is a shortfall in places for this coming September. And the shortfall is predicted to get even worse in future years!

Temporary classrooms were abolished when the Lib Dems ran the County Council, but with the Conservatives in charge, things are going backwards.
Only five years ago Hampshire closed Shepherd Spring School in Andover leaving other schools with a shortage of places and forced to use temporary class rooms. Tories on Test Valley Council recently ignored local concerns and voted to build houses on the school playing fields. Mums, dads and local campaigners are asking why the County Conservatives failed to see this crisis coming and why they are more concerned with selling land for housing than building schools. Andover Lib Dems are backing parents’ calls for long-term solutions for school places, not the quick fix backwards step of temporary classrooms!

On the Guildhall and Andover’s councillors

Readers may have noticed recently a flurry of letters in the Andover Advertiser from Andover’s town councillors. One from Cllr Lynn bemoans local apathy. Another from Cllr Pond re-opens the debate on the future of the Guildhall. Both were worthy of a response so I replied as follows

“Councillor Veronika Pond is quite right in her letter regarding the Guildhall. Andover’s Guildhall is the town’s parish hall and should be used by, and for the benefit of, Andover residents. The restaurant on the lower floor is successful and a welcome addition to the town. But it did not need to be located there. Andover residents are entitled to a firm commitment from their councillors that the Guildhall, and in particular the upper floor, will remain available to the town and its people. It can and should be a focus for the local community.

But it is not enough just to provide a focus. Much has been said, most recently by Councillor Lynn, about apathy among residents. If he and his colleagues are serious about residents’ views they must listen to them. Too often on important local matters – the Guildhall, bandstand, war memorial, planning, highways, the sale of school fields and allotments – local views are often felt to be ignored. Indifference of one side feeds apathy on the other.

The solution lies with the town’s councillors at all levels. Listen to, and act on the views of residents. Councillors are trustees of the town and its facilities now and for future. They must remember they are elected representatives of the people on the council, not representatives of the council to the people.”

I look forward to their and more importantly everyone else’s response.