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All posts for the month October, 2012

Crime Maps

Posted by horndeanguy on October 31, 2012
Posted in: Local Issues, Useful Information. Leave a comment

This is well worth a look, and a great website. No, I’m not self congratulating myself on the blog here, but the “Community Policing and Crime Statistics Neighbourhood” website which shows exactly where every reported crime has taken place. The website address is in the ‘useful links’ section to the right, and here: https://www.crimereports.co.uk/ It is very simple to use. just click on the link, you will need to ‘Accept cookies’ and then enter your postcode.

If you are concerned about crime, you should take comfort that there is little in the Ward, and if you drag the map over to the towns and cities nearby, you start to see where some of the problems are.

The image below is as of todays date.

Horndean Pays While Gas Co Saves

Posted by horndeanguy on October 27, 2012
Posted in: A point of view, Local Issues. Leave a comment

Cones. Bliming Cones Bliming Everywhere.

Currently we are caught in a pincer movement between 3 groups who are making travelling around a misery. Green lane works, the A3 Central Reservation and Horndean Village Centre have all been subject to road closures, speed limits, alternate traffic lights, and the endless exasperation of motorists.

A short while ago I contacted Southern Gas Networks about the disruption in Horndean and raised the following questions:

Q: The works are said to be urgent. What exactly is the issue here? – A: Yes, they are urgent to correct poor pressure in the pipes. (Speaking to the guys on the ground, the gas supply pressure increases on the 1st November each year for the winter demand, and the works need to be carried out by then. They are only urgent as they were not carried out earlier…)

Q: Why are the works not also being carried out at weekends to shorten the duration? 6 weekends = 12 days = 2 weeks faster. A: The workforce can not be forced to work weekends. The available weekend staff are allocated for emergencies. (Speaking to the guys on the ground,and at 2 other SGN sites, there is an overtime ban to save £157 Million this year. Form your own view)

Q: Could the works have been carried out with two gangs, not one? A: No, there is not enough space. They would get in each others way. (Much better to have several large areas coned off and not worked on at the same time…)

Q: Will there be further works after this 6 week period A: The works will finish on the 5th November. (Feedback from the businesses in Horndean is that they have been told that the works are likely to run 2 to 3 weeks late)

It is inevitable that the next 18 months will see progressive works to connect the new gales site to the road, and we need to ensure that HCC and our County Councillor look after Horndeans interests in making the utility companies operate considerately in our community. County Council elections are early next year, please use this vote wisely.

In the meantime SGN do apologise for the works and inconvenience caused. I have advised them that if there was a sense that they were being quickly and efficiently carried out, then there would be nothing to apologise for.

In the meantime this is being taken up with Hampshire County Council who give permission for the road works to take place to make sure they carefully consider the Gales Site services works.

PV farm at Lovedean?

Posted by horndeanguy on October 27, 2012
Posted in: A point of view, EHDC, Local Issues. Leave a comment

EHDC have received a planning application for a 32.7 acre PV installation off Day Lane in Lovedean. For those not familiar with the area, this is accessed via Catherington Lane Behind the Bird In Hand public house.

The application has been made by Light Source Renewable Energy Ltd, and (if approved) would provide enough power to supply 1661 homes with ‘green energy’, generating 5.76MW of power. The application was received 2nd Oct 2012 and is to be decided by 1st Jan 2013.

This will be an interesting application to watch as there will be two firm groups that emerge.

The NIBMY’s (Not In My Back Yard) – v – The Staunch Environmentalists.

The PV farm will be visible from nearby roads, and has a right of way along side it. There are houses immediately adjacent, and the photomontage shows it will be securely fenced with a large framework of PV panels. On the other hand, fossil fuels have a finite life, are polluting the environment, and we do need to use greener forms of energy.

What are the economics of this?

If you put 8 solar panels measuring 2m x 1m on your roof, you will generate most of the electricity you need to power your home. More importantly you will get a rebate from the government called a ‘feed in tariff’ so instead of purchasing electricity, you get paid to produce it. This means that the cost of the installations generally pay for themselves, perhaps over a 5 to 7 year period. In year 8, you are generally ahead, and with a life span of 25 years for the panels, have a further 18 years free power plus the benefit of the feed in tariff.

If, however, you are a large organisation who can buy several thousand panels at a far better price (compared to your 8) and install them at ground level (cheaper than climbing about on the roof) and connect them all together, then you can install a very much more cost-effective installation. The feed in tariff rate has, however, been changing. Over the last 18 months the government has been reviewing the Feed In Tariff rates for domestic and commercial applications, and as the panels and technology become cheaper, the rebate you earn is being reduced. Currently the commercial rate is expected to reduce to 7.1p per KWH from 1st November this year. This will generate £408 per hour in government subsidy for this particular development when the sun shines, plus the value of the electricity. Very big business. (The feed in tariff rate is guaranteed for 25 years)

Clearly this is being done for commercial gain, and while this is fine, we must be sure this is for the right reason in our community. I work in construction for my ‘Real Job’ and yes, PV is an important way to generate power. I have installed it on 3 buildings now. It does however need to be applied in the right areas, and this is where the installation is sympathetic. Installed at ground level these will always be seen, and are not elegant or attractive structures. It is impossible to screen them with hedging as this also blocks out the sun. The neighbouring properties will be affected and suffer a possible reduction in value. Some of them will possible be affected by light reflecting off the panels.

Personally I think farmland should remain as farmland. I would be worried about this site being converted to ‘Light Industrial’ in 25 years time based on its change of use now. I do however believe that PV should be installed, but think the right location for this are land we have already built on, and locations such as the roofs of ASDA, B+Q, Tesco, Cash & Carry structures and industrial buildings with flat roofs where these can be installed without being visible from ground level are really the best uses of land, and funnily enough, keep the power being generated next to industrial and populated areas where the cost to distribute and sell it are also very economical.

I will be interested to see the outcome of this.

There is a public meeting where you can find out more. Monday 5th November, 6:30 Jubilee Hall, Crouch Lane, Horndean.

Details of the application can be found here: http://planningpublicaccess.easthants.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=_EHANT_DCAPR_228504

More information on feed In Tarrif rates for commercial purposed can be found here: http://www.theecoexperts.co.uk/commercial-feed-tariff

9th Oct Community Forum Report

Posted by horndeanguy on October 11, 2012
Posted in: EHDC, Local Issues. Leave a comment

The South of Butser District Councillors held their Southern Community Forum meeting on 9th October 2012 at Merchistoun Hall. This is where the 8 District Councillors from Clanfield, Horndean and Rowlands Castle meet and discuss local issues. It is an excellent opportunity to address any questions about District issues, and also to get issues raised with your County Councillors.

The meetings are public, and there is a formal question and answer session. You can either submit the question in advance where work goes into finding a helpful answer, or you can ambush us and raise it on the spot…

There are usually a number of presentations, and this week we heard from representatives of the Southern NHS and Hampshire Joint Health and Wellbeing committee. This covered in some detail the changes to the structure of the NHS (See earlier blog). We also heard from Brendan Charles, Manager of Horndean Community Centre (Merchistoun Hall) who is currently working hard on grant funding applications and plans to regenerate the hall.

Some of the questions submitted to the panel for the Hampshire County Councillor to respond to include:

  • Parking on London Road just north of Horndean is a problem with the same parked vehicles affecting traffic flow in the village. Will the county look at double yellow lines.
  • The Urgent gas works in Horndean village are not being worked on efficiently. Future works in this area, especially on the Gales site, need to be planned in far better.
  • The bus stop in front of the old Blue Anchor needs to be relocated to a safer position with, hopefully, a shelter.
  • The change to the 41 bus timetable has taken place with no notification or consultation. This is disappointing and we have missed opportunity to press for better service provision.

When an update on these issues is forthcoming, I will post it on the blog.

First Bus Consumer Panel

Posted by horndeanguy on October 11, 2012
Posted in: Local Issues, Useful Information. Leave a comment

First Bus, to their credit, have a consumer panel. This is to review strategic change to the service, and make sure that customer views are heard, and considered. If you have the spare time to attend 4 meetings a year and give your views to the Directors and Senior Managers of First, then you can contact First on buscustomerpanel@firstgroup.com

Further information from their website, including a link to the full page:

  • The panel has a number of customers (between 8 and 10) who represent other customers who use specific bus services.
  • They meet quarterly with local senior management and directors.
  • Each panel member was chosen to ensure that a broad cross-section of our customers would be represented.
  • The individual customer panel members are completely independent from First.

http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/hampshire/help_contact/customer_panel/

Do First Give First Class Service?

Posted by horndeanguy on October 11, 2012
Posted in: Local Issues, Useful Information. Leave a comment

Ok, a cheesy title, but do First group give us a first class bus service or not?

I would strongly agree that the fleet of 41’s is clean, reliable and modern, but for a long time now we have as a community (past and present District Councillors, HIND, Community Groups) asked First to provide better coverage in the community. The bus currently does a loop around Downs ward where, to be fair, there is good accessibility to the service, but it does not serve the other villages in our community well either.

Recent attempts by District Councillors to ask First to consider an hourly loop around Catherington so that 1 in 4 buses provide a service here were met with rejection. “The wrong type of roads – too narrow for the First buses, especially if the bus meets another large vehicle coming the other way” (not that it will be another Bus…). They have forgotten the 140 then 38a that used to manage this before they were scrapped.

Services to Petersfield are only provided by Stagecoach on an hourly basis, and these head to the station, but do not help with coverage to Penns Place, or the leisure facilities there.

I also heard last night from a Downs residents that the First bus service to Oaklands School was cancelled with just 2 weeks notice. Worse, the £800 pre paid annual ticket took 6 months to be refunded. Personally I expect a large company to refund a credit for an unused service cancelled in this manner as promptly as they expect the customer to pay the fee in the first place, but why First chose to shut down this popular and full service in the first place is confusing.

We also have no service to the leisure centres to the South in Havant, Waterlooville, or bus facilities for the elderly.

Part of the problem is that we have, I believe, the wrong service provider. First are excellent at their offering in Portsmouth, or other built up city centre areas where there is a large demand for modern, reliable, efficient vehicles where there is a large customer base, and the level of usage can justify the big overhead and operating costs of a national service provider with shareholder expectations. For us to have a better service, a lower cost organisation such as Emsworth and District may well be able to cover the area better and provide a service based on Petersfield – Clanfield – Horndean – Waterlooville – Havant and returning.

Areas such as the leisure facilities and EHDC could be covered. Variants to the theme put in place for Catherington, Rowlands Castle, the top end of Catherington and school runs could be well covered.

For this to work though, the crumbs must come with the cream, and that would need to include the current 41 route from Horndean to Havant.

What do you think?

If you have a view on the bus service in the community then please let me know on the poll here, or by email. you can tick one or more of the options you agree with.

Useful links below:

Stagecoach 37, 38 service time table:

http://www.stagecoachbus.com/PdfUploads/Timetable_15740_37%20(Havant).pdf

First 41 service time table:

http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/hampshire/assets/pdfs/journey_planning/booklets/waterlooville.pdf

ZIP bus route map:

http://hantsweb-staging.hants.gov.uk/tfsh/zip/zip-getonboard/zipmap.htm

Portsmouth First Bus Route Map:

http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/hampshire/assets/pdfs/journey_planning/maps/Portsmouth_Network.pdf

Local Plan Review

Posted by horndeanguy on October 7, 2012
Posted in: EHDC, Local Issues. Leave a comment

October and November will see some interesting events at EHDC as the Government Inspector comes in to approve the District Councils Local Plan.

The Local Plan is how EHDC wish to see the district develop over the next 15 years, and covers the strategy for  Whitehill Bordon (The Eco Town with 4,000 new homes), social housing provision, and protection of our settlement gaps, amongst other important local issues.

After many man years of work to assemble this large plan, approval will rest on the views and opinion of just one man.

For full details on the examination, click here: http://www.easthants.gov.uk/ehdc/planningpolicy.nsf/webpages/Examination+Documents

The agenda for discussion in week 1 has been announced, with week 2 to be confirmed:

Week1:

ID5 – Session 1, 10.00 to 11.00: 23rd October 2012 Legal and Procedural Requirements

ID6 – Session 2, 11.30: 23rd October 2012 Strategy

ID7 – Session 3, 9.30: 24th October 2012 Housing

ID8 – Session 4, 9.30: 25th October 2012  Employment 

ID9 – Session 5, 14.00: 25th October 2012 Affordable Housing

Week 2:

Agenda To be confirmed, but the discussions will be in November.

New Bus Timetable On The Way

Posted by horndeanguy on October 6, 2012
Posted in: Local Issues, Useful Information. Leave a comment

Last week we read in the press that First were making “ Major Changes” to the 41 Bus route time table with almost all of its services to be affected, and the new routes in force from the 18th November this year. Licences and subsidies are managed by Hampshire County Council, and it is frustrating that this has been advertised to us in the press, and not from the County Councillor. At the moment, we are told on the Hampshire County Council website that the X41 bus will remain unaffected, but the 41 bus will become the Number 8 with the following times:

Service 8: Serving The Hard, the City Centre, Stamshaw, Cosham, Waterlooville, Cowplain, Horndean and Clanfield, the new service 8 will operate every 15 minutes during the day Monday to Saturday and every 20 minutes on Sundays. In the evenings buses will run every 30 minutes between The Hard and Cosham, extending to Clanfield on an hourly basis.

On the face of it, the frequency of service looks unchanged, but we wont know for sure until we get the timetable.

 Press article in The News here: http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/transport/first-bus-reveals-routes-shake-up-1-4302741

The current First timetable is here. I will update the link when the new one is published: http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/hampshire/assets/pdfs/journey_planning/booklets/waterlooville.pdf

The press release on the HCC website can be found here: http://www3.hants.gov.uk/passengertransport/public-transport/busnews/busnews-hampshire.htm

Benefit Caps On The Way

Posted by horndeanguy on October 6, 2012
Posted in: EHDC, Local Issues. Leave a comment

Reform of benefits is underway, and there are several reasons for it.

  1. The payouts have grown over the years to the point where some claimants are better off being ‘out of work’ and could not possibly afford to get a job.
  2. The cost to keep social benefits at the level they are now is simply not sustainable.
  3. The system is also very complex.

Currently the state pays out £162.8 Billion to non working people. If you are one of the 33 million employed, then the slice of economy you represent (your salary, employers business etc) contribute £5,000 to the welfare state. Little of this goes to pensioners, but the vast majority to people of working age who are not employed.

We must protect the retired, and those who can not work through illness or redundancy, but for the long-term unemployed we need to look again at what we are doing.

These benefit caps which are coming in will make some changes, but not enough. For example, a single person of working age will shortly have benefits capped at £350 per week. This is £1,400 per month, or £16,800 per year. To earn this as an employee, you would need to have a salary of nearly £20,000 per year. Many people who are reading this will have a full-time job which pays less, or have worked for a career and have a pension which also pays less. As tax payers, you are contributing to this now. Personally, I feel this cap is too high, but it is a start.

Our benefits system needs to be a safety net to keep people and families going while making it pay to get back into work.

For more information, here is the link to the DWP (Department of Work and Pensions) website: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/policy/welfare-reform/

Dysfunctional Parish Council

Posted by horndeanguy on October 6, 2012
Posted in: Politically Incorrect Humor. Leave a comment

In Horndean here we have four tiers of government; Parish, District, County and National. It is fair to say that the quality of service across these varies, but I would like to introduce you to the unofficial blog of Icklesham Parish Council which is maintained by two (very disgruntled and out for revenge) Parish Councils from Winchelsea, a village in the Parish. At this point, local elected members in Horndean may start breathing again as this post is not directed at our home ground, but rather describes the scene from a Midsommer Murders plot with a village stuffed full of petty intrigue and hatred which rather clearly over boils into the public airing of most dirty laundry.

I truly look forward to updates on the blog as it sets a new threshold for behaviour which must make every other council in the country feel good about its warts and failings.

Enjoy (but please remember to come back here when you have finished)

http://ickleshampc.blogspot.co.uk/

Election time is coming…

Posted by horndeanguy on October 6, 2012
Posted in: Useful Information. Leave a comment

Police And Crime Commissioner.

On Thursday 15th November 2011 elections will be held for the Police and Crime Commissioner across the country. This position is an elected position within each Police authority, so in areas is across multiple counties, for us it is just Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The PCC will take on a role with considerable power, replacing a group of 17 people from the current police authority. By making this an elected position, it is hoped there will be a greater level of democratic accountability. The polling booth for Downs residents will most certainly be by the Clanfield Co Op.

There will be a roadshow, organised by the Police Authority, which will answer questions and explain why it is important to vote. this will take place at Rams Walk Shopping Centre, Petersfield on Friday 28th September 2012 between 10am and 2pm.

Candidates include:

  • Michael Mates – Conservative http://www.michaelmates.org/ 
  • Don Jerrard – Justice and Anti – Corruption Party
  • David Goodall – Liberal Democrat
  • Jacqui Rayment – Labour
  • Simon Hayes – Independent
  • Stephen West – UKIP 
 County Council Elections.
 
In Spring next year, probably June, the County Council Elections will take place.
 

Fancy being a Poll Clerk for the day?

EHDC are looking for people to be a Poll Station clerk for a day. There is a payment for this, and training is provided. if you fancy doing something different and having an interesting experience, then please let me know and I will put you in touch with the right person at EHDC.

Downs Polling Station move?

Following the District Council elections, there was some feedback that the polling station was small, cold, and wet. Granted, it was the wettest June I recall (Standing out the front telling was miserable) but as a cost-effective temporary facility for one days polling I thought was quite adequate. If you know of another location with easy parking that might be a suitable alternative, then please let me know. The EHDC Chief Executive has asked for suggestions for an alternate location. Personally, I think the current voting station outside Clanfield COOP is convenient, and will get a greater footfall as people visiting the convenience store are likely to vote at the same time here.

Fed up with those roadworks?

Posted by horndeanguy on October 6, 2012
Posted in: Gales Brewery, Local Issues. Leave a comment

We are currently in the middle of a 6 week period of roadworks in the centre of Horndean. This means that our village centre has single alternate line traffic lights giving each of the 4 intersection roads a chance to crawl forward and get to the other side of the village. We are advised that this is urgent work to replace a collapsed gas main. If this is urgent work, then you might wonder why they can not work on this over the weekend too. This would at least finish the work 12 days earlier and minimise the disruption for everyone. (I can not tell you why as SGN who own the supply pipes can not tell me). If I do get a reply, then I will let you know. We need to prepare for more though as the Gales site will require new Electricity, Gas, Water, BT, Cable TV, Sewer and Storm drainage connections. On both sides of the road. Some of this will inevitably mean digging up the road and more traffic disruption. Permissions to dig up the roads are reviewed by Hampshire County Council, and we need to make sure the County Councillor and developer work together to minimise disruption and where possible carry out multiple connections at the same time.

Healthcare is changing.

Posted by horndeanguy on October 6, 2012
Posted in: Local Issues. Leave a comment

Following the scrapping of the PCT’s (Primary Care Trusts), new CCG’s (Clinical Commissioning Groups) are being formed. These will fall under the responsibility of Hampshire County Council with most changes being implemented by April 2013. We will fall under the South Eastern Clinical Commissioning Group, one of 5 areas in the County. While this will largely be a County responsibility, we have an interest with how our local surgeries will be funded, how developers contributions for health provision get channeled etc.

South Eastern Hampshire CCG (Map Below) has 28 GP practices, a budget of £180m, a population of 209,068. They also fund our local hospitals and the Ambulance service.

For more information, please click on this link where I have shamelessly sourced some of the information in this Blog: http://www.southamptonhealth.nhs.uk/ship/sehccg/yourccg/

To read the South Eastern Hampshire Clinical Care Group 2012 – 2016 operating plan, click on this link:  http://www.southamptonhealth.nhs.uk/EasysiteWeb/getresource.axd?AssetID=130465&type=full&servicetype=Attachment

Map of South Eastern Hampshire Clinical Care Group:

HCC Roads Reporting Website

Posted by horndeanguy on October 6, 2012
Posted in: Useful Information. Leave a comment

This is a useful website where highways issues can be reported. It is the official Hampshire County Council reporting website, and you can register the following and more:

  • Potholes
  • Faulty street lighting
  • Hedges which have overgrown the footpath
  • Unsafe pavement or road surfaces
  • Salt bins missing / damaged / empty
  • Blocked drains and flooded roads
  • Fly tipping
  • Abandoned vehicles

It is very easy, and the system lets you pinpoint the problem on a map. You can see what everyone else has reported, and it tracks when problems have been cleared. The link to the website is on the ‘Useful Links’ tab on the right hand side of this blog, or you can click here: http://www3.hants.gov.uk/roadproblems

Alternatively, if you let me know where there are highways issues I will also be very happy to register them online with HCC too.

Council Tax Benefit System Changes

Posted by horndeanguy on October 6, 2012
Posted in: EHDC. Leave a comment

The Council Tax benefit system is changing.

The Council Tax Benefit is being scrapped and replaced with a new scheme called the ‘Council Tax Support System’. This will receive 10 to 15 percent less funding, or a shortfall of £870,000. This affects us as EHDC is responsible for managing this budget and ensuring that vulnerable people are kept housed.

EHDC are currently holding a survey which ends on 4th November to select the way it will work. It is important that views are given as the shortfall will be made up with some residents receiving less in benefits and some discounts and exemptions for empty properties and second homes may be reduced. The website for the survey is: http://www.easthants.gov.uk/counciltaxbenefit

If you are either receiving Council Tax Benefit, or have a second property then this affects you, and you should click on the link above to find out more.

August News Letter

Posted by horndeanguy on October 6, 2012
Posted in: Newsletters. Leave a comment

During the elections a number of comments were raised at the door, and a key one was that the visible presence of the Councillors is limited, and only during the election period. To address this I will be preparing 3 or 4 newsletters a year, and maintaining this blog. The first newsletter which was delivered in late August / Early September is here: August 2012 Newsletter 

The next newsletter will go out in November.

Feedback to the newsletter:

  • There have been about 20 email replies giving feedback, and the very clear response was that the newsletter is a good format to keep in touch, and far better than door knocking:
  • There was support for a Blog, and, thankfully, no encouragement to use Twitter.
  • Speeding a lot of support for the SID unit, some thoughts on keeping the locations fresh with other roads suggested. Will pass these onto the SID team.
  • 1 respondent in favour of encouraging traffic to use Drift Road and London Road as opposed to Downwood Road. Some equal objections to use of Drift road too.
  • Residents association – some acknowledgement that an Association has benefits, but overwhelming apathy
  • BT phone Kiosk on North Road is unloved by BT, and also by the community as a whole, so I will follow up its removal.
  • Damaged play area surface at Downs Park – reported to HPC who are following this up with repairs on other sites.
  • Many concerns about parking on London Road near Horndean village centre affecting the traffic. Have followed up with the County Councillor.
  • Patient capacity in the local surgeries needs to be monitored, especially with the closure of primary care trusts and County Councils taking on responsibility.
  • Dog walkers and picking up – EHDC issued a fine on a walker in Horndean just recently.

Why…

Posted by horndeanguy on October 5, 2012
Posted in: A point of view. Leave a comment

My name is Guy Shepherd, I am the District Councillor for Downs Ward in Horndean, and this is my blog. Here I hope to keep everyone informed on what the current local issues are which affect Downs. These may be the local play areas, activities in the villages nearby such as development, or major EHDC decisions which affect funding and the services that we get. It is also a good way for you to get hold of me, and raise your concerns too. Over time I hope this will become a useful and reliable source of local information, and wherever possible some humor. This blog definitely represents my own views, and not those of any organisation I represent. Guy.