Reminder about the Local Plan Consultation:

The local plan is going through its consultation stages at the moment and some of the larger sites in the north of the district have received a number of objections so EHDC are obliged to review other options across the district.

One of these options EHDC would like your views on is the land to the South of Land East of Horndean and you can view the options in full at the consultation being held at Barton Hall (Horndean technology College) on Monday 23 September starting at 4:00pm running till 7:00pm.

For my thoughts across the district we need to take our equal share of housing to cater for our own growing needs so the areas to the north need to do this too. The allocation for land East of Horndean takes us to 2036 and we need to consider the further land as an option for use beyond this date. In addition the land owner and developer who have the option are not doing an efficient job of bringing the current allocation at LEOH to fruition so should not be rewarded with further allocated land.

If you cant make the local consultation on the 23rd September then here is a full list of the other dates and locations:

The consultation will last six weeks and include six drop-in events.

• Alton Assembly Rooms – Tuesday 3 September, 4-7pm
• Barton Hall, Horndean – Saturday 7 September, 10am-2pm
• Alton Assembly Rooms – Saturday 14 September, 10am-2pm
• Forest Community Centre, Bordon – Thursday 19 September, 4-7pm
• Barton Hall, Horndean – Monday 23 September, 4-7pm
• Forest Community Centre, Bordon – Saturday 28 September, 10am-2pm

The 10 sites under consideration are:

• Northbrook Park
• Whitehill & Bordon
• Chawton Park Farm
• Land East of Horndean (Hazelton Farm)
• Land south east of Liphook
• Neatham Down
• Four Marks south
• Land west of Lymington Bottom Road, South Medstead
• South Medstead
• Land south of Winchester Road, Four Marks.

For more information please go to www.easthants.gov.uk/draft-local-plan

Cllr Sara Schillemore

I appreciate many people are concerned about Brexit and have asked me for my views.  Indeed, I have been contacted by a large number of people on both sides of this debate and wanted to set-out my thoughts for all members.

First, on the issue of prorogation.  I have copied below the text of the letter the Prime Minister sent all MPs:

“..…I wanted to take this opportunity to update you on the Government’s plans for its business in Parliament.

As you know, for some time parliamentary business has been sparse.  The current session has lasted more than 340 days and needs to be brought to a close – in almost 400 years only the 2010-12 session comes close, at 250 days.  Bills have been introduced, which, while worthy in their own right, have at times seemed more about filling time in both the Commons and the Lords, while key Brexit legislation has been held back to ensure it could still be considered for carry-over into a second session.  This cannot continue.

I therefore intend to bring forward a new bold and ambitious domestic legislative agenda for the renewal of our country after Brexit.  There will be a significant Brexit legislative programme to get through but that should be no excuse for a lack of ambition!

We will help the NHS, fight violent crime, invest in infrastructure and science and cut the cost of living.

This morning I spoke to Her Majesty The Queen to request an end to the current parliamentary session in the second sitting week in September, before commencing the second session of this Parliament with a Queen’s speech on Monday 14 October.  A central feature of the legislative programme will be the Government’s number one legislative priority, if a new deal is forthcoming at EU Council, to introduce a Withdrawal Agreement Bill and move at pace to secure its passage before 31 October.

I fully recognise that the debate on the Queen’s Speech will be an opportunity for Members of Parliament to express their view on this Government’s legislative agenda and its approach to, and the result of, the European Council on 17-18 October.  It is right that you should have the chance to do so, in a clear and unambiguous manner.

I also believe it is vitally important that the key votes associated with the Queen’s Speech and any deal with the EU fall at a time when parliamentarians are best placed to judge the Government’s programme.  Parliament will have the opportunity to debate the Government’s overall programme, and approach to Brexit, in the run up to EU Council, and then vote on this on 21 and 22 October, once we know the outcome of the Council.  Should I succeed in agreeing a deal with the EU, Parliament will then have the opportunity to pass the Bill required for ratification of the deal ahead of 31 October.

Finally, I want to reiterate to colleagues that these weeks leading up to the European Council on 17/18 October are vitally important for the sake of my negotiations with the EU.  Member States are watching what Parliament does with great interest and it is only by showing unity and resolve that we stand a chance of securing a new deal that can be passed by Parliament. In the meantime, the Government will take the responsible approach of continuing its preparations for leaving the EU, with or without a deal.

The Leader of the Commons will update the House in the normal fashion with regard to business for the final week.  For now, I can confirm that on Monday 9 September both Houses will debate the motions on the first reports relating to the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019 (NIEFA).  Following these debates we will begin preparation to end the Parliamentary session ahead of a Queen’s Speech.

The Business Managers in both Houses will shortly engage with their opposite numbers, and MPs more widely, on plans for passing a deal should one be forthcoming.  Decisions will also need to be taken about carrying over some of the bills currently before the House, and we will look to work constructively with the Opposition on this front.  If agreement cannot be reached we will look to reintroduce the bills in the next session, and details on this will be set out in the Queen’s Speech.”

Boris Johnson PM

As you may know, there is an EU summit scheduled for next month and the Prime Minister has made it absolutely clear he hopes to come back from that meeting with a new deal.   Given that he was only elected a few weeks ago, I think it’s absolutely right we give him the opportunity to attempt this new negotiation with the EU.  I will, therefore, be supporting the Prime Minister in any confidence vote which may be brought forward in the next few weeks.

Now, I fully understand the dates and sequencing have clearly been chosen to guarantee we formally leave the European Union on October 31st.  Perhaps it is worth explaining why this is the case.

The Privy Council has endorsed the decision to prorogue (i.e. suspend) Parliament on September 10th with a return on October 14th, this means that even if there’s a vote of confidence on that day, or if the Government loses Queen’s Speech votes on October 21st and 22nd, the Fixed Term Parliament Act allows 14 days in which a new administration can be formed.  Even if the Queen’s Speech were to be amended to suspend the strictures of that Act and a General Election were to be called immediately, the date of that election would have to be after October 31st.

So, we know full well why the dates have been chosen as they have.

Which takes us back once again to the central issue of leaving the EU.  Parliament suspended its right to make decisions on behalf of the British people on this issue and a referendum was held.  That referendum resulted in a vote to leave.

I have never hidden the fact that I would prefer to leave with a deal and continue to believe this is the best way forward.  Plainly it has to be preferable to leave the EU in a way that does as much as can be done to mitigate the economic effects of doing so, and I do believe it is the Prime Minister’s intention to find such a deal.

But we are rapidly approaching a point where we may be leaving without a deal and it is right that I make my position clear.

I am more than well aware of the economic damage that a ‘no deal’ exit may incur.  One of my key roles as a minister was to deal with the plans my department had in place for just such an eventuality.  But this comes down to more than economics.  It is about faith in the political system and, however much I weigh this in the balance against the economic cost, I cannot persuade myself that undermining the fundamental tenets of government by consent is worth the trade.  If we do not leave we risk enormous disengagement from the political process by millions of people who were told many times their vote would be honoured.  I understand others profoundly disagree with me but it is much easier to quantify a cost of an action you can put on a spreadsheet than one whose consequences may be less defined, but potentially more profound.

As such, if a deal cannot be agreed with the European Union for a reasonable exit, I believe we have no option but to leave without a deal.

Yours sincerely

George Hollingbery MP

Member of Parliament for Meon Valley

House of Commons │London │SW1A OAA │Tel: 0207 219 7109

www.georgehollingbery.com <http://www.georgehollingbery.com/>

The next Horndean and Clanfield litter pick is on Sunday 4th August.

The Sally and the team meet at Morrison’s carpark at 9.30am

Sally will allocate hotspots then bring rubbish back at 11.30. All equipment including bags and pickers is provided. New volunteers are always welcome!

Lets keep our area looking nice!

Consultation to open on Large Development Sites for Local Plan

Some of the largest potential development sites in East Hampshire will be the subject of a special consultation in the autumn. The consultation, to be held from 3 September – 15 October, will focus on ten large sites, of which two will be included in the Local Plan.

Run by East Hampshire District Council it is another step towards producing a new Local Plan. The Local Plan provides guidelines for future development in parts of East Hampshire outside the South Downs National Park.

The six-week process, called the Local Plan Large Development Sites Consultation, will put the ten possible sites to the public and invite comments and information.

Residents will have the chance to give the council information about sites that might affect its suitability for development and to say what infrastructure is needed in that area. The responses received will be used by the council along with technical information and evidence from other organisations to decide which two sites will be included in the plan. It will not include other policies and sites already considered in the draft Local Plan.

The consultation will last six weeks and include six drop-in events, all in September.

Alton Assembly Rooms – Tuesday 3 Sept, 4-7pm
Barton Hall, Horndean – Saturday 7 Sept, 10am-2pm
Alton Assembly Rooms – Saturday 14 Sept, 10am-2pm
Forest Community Centre, Bordon – Thursday 19 Sept, 4-7pm
Barton Hall, Horndean – Monday 23 Sept, 4-7pm
Forest Community Centre, Bordon – Saturday 28 Sept, 10am-2pm

Cllr Angela Glass, Portfolio Holder for Planning, said: “The council is committed to working with the local community to deliver a new Local Plan. Developing a Local Plan is like having a conversation – we listen to people’s thoughts, consider them and respond accordingly. We are particularly keen to receive representations from across the community and involve local people as early in the process as possible.”

A broad consultation was held on the Local Plan in February and March. During that process the council received more than 2,000 comments.

Cllr Glass said: “The overriding message from those responses was concern about infrastructure and the impact of new development on existing communities. We therefore intend to consult on all potential large development areas, to gather further information and ensure local communities are engaged and aware from the early stages.”

The results of the consultation will inform the council’s decision as to which sites will be included in the Local Plan. The council will not be taking comments on polices and sites not included as part of this consultation.

The ten sites under consideration are:

Northbrook Park, Bentley
Whitehill & Bordon extension
Chawton Park Farm, near Alton
Land East of Horndean Extension
Land South East of Liphook
Neatham Down, near Alton
Four Marks South
Land west of Lymington Bottom Road, South Medstead
South Medstead
Winchester Road, Four Marks

Detailed plans of the sites will be available during the consultation at www.easthants.gov.uk/draft-local-plan

Re-location of Horndean Surgery

As many of you will know, the Horndean Surgery has been looking to re-locate for some years – since before 2012 in fact.

Those of you who know our practice will be aware that it is in a small converted house originally intended for 500 patients. We now have around 5,500. We have seen an 18% increase in registered patients since 2012, including 300 in the last year alone. There is no potential to expand on our existing site, which is up a leafy lane with next-to-no car parking.

My reason for writing to you is that we are delighted to say that our plans are finally coming to fruition and it is our intention to relocate in late September or early October this year to a purpose-built new surgery just 200 or so paces (0.2 miles) from our existing site in Blendworth Lane to 7-9 London Road, PO8 0BN, in the heart of Horndean.

It has been a long process for us, but we have been working with our Patient Participation Group on this since before 2014 and keeping them up to speed with developments and any news, and they are fully supportive of our plans.

We have not only worked with East Hants District Council and a local developer , but we have also liaised closely with our commissioning organisations – initially NHS England and the former Hampshire Primary Care Trust and more recently NHS South Eastern Hampshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) since it took on delegated commissioning responsibilities for primary care services in 2016.

The CCG has received a letter of support for the practice re-location from both the district council and the chairman of Horndean Parish Council.

The patient support for our plans, along with our PPG, and the local parish and district council support, has been invaluable in helping us to secure our new building and we would like to take this further opportunity to thank you for this support.

Clearly moving to a new purpose-built and a much larger site in the centre of Horndean village will provide the community we are proud to serve with improved facilities which are fit for purpose in the 21st century and meet the challenges facing primary care services today. These new premises will give us adequate space to provide a number of things that we cannot currently provide for our patients and staff, including:

• More much-needed clinical space for our existing GPs to improve their services to patients
• A training area for GPs
• Clinical space for nursing staff to help improve their services to patients
• A staff area
• A private area for patients
• A separate kitchen
• A much more appropriate sized waiting room, to further improve facilities for our patients
• Storage space
• Conference/meeting facilities
• Much improved facilities for patients with a disability, parents with pushchairs and the frail elder.

The new premises will not only serve our existing patients, but they will give us the potential to take on new patients from the additional 900 homes being built within a 500 metre radius of the site.

In 2014, in liaison with our Patient Participation Group and Patient Reference Group, we undertook a detailed patients’ questionnaire to help us adapt and develop our services in response to the needs of our patients. In the survey, we asked about potential services that could be run from the new premises which might prove useful to our patients.  A pharmacy, physiotherapy, minor surgery and orthopaedic services all featured strongly on our patients’ wish list. There is now a pharmacy next door to our new building and we are in discussions for specialist clinics include a physio, minor surgery and orthopaedic consultants.

We are also working with our Primary Care Network to develop services in the local area – some of which could potentially be offered from the new building. Our PPG is currently looking at a potential dietician coming on board and we hope to have dementia-friendly coffee mornings.

We will be exploring these options further with our patient Participation Group, but we would welcome any view that you might have on this too. We will be writing to the head of household of all our registered patients addresses to bring them up to speed with our proposed timetable, but we are already communicating with patients via the news section of our website, and our posts on our Facebook page have reached more than 3,000 people. This page has been maintained for the last two years.

And we know that a number of you have been following progress in recent years with stories in the local press including The News (Portsmouth), the Petersfield Post and most recently on April 30, 2019), the Horndean Post.

I know that this is a long letter but I thank you for taking the time to read it. If you require any further information, please email or Practice Manager Mrs Jean Smees Jean.Smees@nhs.net.

Yours Sincerely,

Dr Mark Coombe, M.B., B.S. 1989, FRCGP, MFFP, DRCOG, PGCE
Senior Partner

EH783 – Downwood Way, Horndean – Drainage Maintenance

As part of Operation Resilience, Hampshire County Council’s programme to make Hampshire’s roads more resilient to the effects of extreme weather and heavy traffic, this letter is to advise of upcoming Drainage Cleansing on Downwood Way, at the roundabout with A3 London Road.

Currently the work is programmed for Monday 22nd July 2019 and is estimated to take 5 nights to complete.

Due to the nature of the work and for safety reasons, it is necessary to carry out the works under 3-way temporary traffic signals, between the hours of 20:00 – 06:00hrs.

As a resident, you are receiving this letter to inform you that due to the close proximity of your property to the works, you are within an area which may experience some noise disturbance overnight. We are aware of the issues created by night working and will endeavour to keep noise to a minimum during the works.

In order to help us to complete the work as quickly as possible, please ensure that no vehicles are parked on the road on the days of the resurfacing. Please be aware any vehicles left parked on the road that prevent the works taking place, face the risk of being removed.

For your safety and that of our workforce, we are unable to guarantee vehicular access to and from your property during working hours. Pedestrian access will always be available.

In order to avoid potential injury or damage, please do not walk within the works area during the works unless directed by a member of the workforce.

Thank you for your co-operation and, if you need more information regarding these works, please call our contact centre on 0300 555 1388.

Did you work at the Gales Brewery? Would you like to share your stories and experiences? We are looking for a few people to film as part of this project. If you are interested please contact Rebecca on 01730 234186 or e-mail rebecca.probert@easthants.gov.uk