On the 30th December 2014 East Hants refused the White Dirt Farm application and Taylor Wimpey had a 6 month period to register an appeal.

With Land East Of Horndean on the horizon as well as the 5 year plan being robustly met the odds of a successful appeal were only going to diminish with time. The window of opportunity to register an appeal ended yesterday and none has been issued so this puts to bed this issue, hopefully until at least until 2028. Happily this has saved us all unnecessary stress and worry.

In the mean time the call for SHLAA sites will continue so EHDC maintains a register of possible options for the very long term future (this is a legal requirement) and in about 5 years time the ‘First Review’ of the local plan will need to be carried out to make sure we are building enough homes in line with the JCS to satisfy our needs. With LEOH this will most certainly be the case.

In the meantime the signs saying ‘WE SAY NO TO WDF’ can either be changed to ‘WE SAID NO TO WDF’ or put right to the back of the garage.

Well done everyone!

PC David Tester:

I joined Surrey Police in 2000, covering the Waverley area for 6 years before transferring to Sussex Police for a short period. I transferred to Hampshire in 2007 and worked in Portsmouth on the response team for 6 years before changing roles and moving out to Butser Neighbourhood Policing Team now covering the Horndean Beat. 

david.tester@hampshire.pnn.police.uk

PCSO Jo Killick:

I have worked as a PCSO for Hampshire Constabulary since 2006. I started in Portsmouth Town Centre before moving on to work in Landport and Portsea neighbourhood areas. I thoroughly enjoyed working in the busy city. Since April I have been working from Petersfield Police Station and cover the Horndean area. I am enjoying my patrols here and getting to know the area as well as meeting the local residents and children. I am happy to attend community events and beat surgery when on duty.

Jospehine.killick@hampshire.pnn.police.uk

PCSO Rob Earl:

HI, I am Rob Earl, I became a PCSO in Aug 2011, I have worked for Hampshire Constabulary since 1996. I will be covering the Horndean area of the Butser beat and having covered the area in the past look forward to getting involved again.

robert.earl@hampshire.pnn.police.uk

PCSO Darryl Hook:

Hi my name is Darryl and I will be joining Horndean as the newest recruit. I have enjoyed my time at Netley training and I am now looking forward to working in and around town. I hope to provide a more visible presence within the community. If you see me around then please feel free to approach me with any concerns you may have or just to say hello.

darryl.hook@hampshire.pnn.police.uk

As you see our new Neighbourhood Policing Team I do hope you will introduce yourselves and make them very welcome.

Meon Valley MP urges more donors to give blood

Meon Valley MP George Hollingbery gave blood this week and urged more donors to come forward following a 40% drop in those willing to give a pint.

George has the rare universal blood type group O-negative and gave his donation on Tuesday at Parliament, but he said that supplies across the UK of all types are running low after the sharp fall over the last decade. “Luckily I have a rare blood type that only 8% of the population has and it can be given to anyone so it’s in much demand for emergencies and when a patient’s blood group is unknown,” he said.

“But the reality is that NHS Blood and Transplant is short of all types of blood so I urge everyone, whatever their blood type, to think about making a vital donation. “It’s really easy to book an appointment online and it takes half an hour to give a pint. But most importantly, the chances are your actions will save lives and that’s a great way to use 30 minutes of anyone’s time.”

Around 204,000 people will have to come forward to donate this year alone in order to keep the nation’s blood stocks at a safe level, experts said earlier this month. The rise of people taking exotic holidays, which can preclude donation, plus longer working hours are some of the reasons for the fall.

This year the District Council has renewed the grant funding for local projects with funds awarded through the local District Councillors. This is a fund of £4,500 per Councillor and grant awards can be from £100 to £1,000.

In past years we have supported Horndean Football Club, Butser Home Start (for struggling young families), Merchistoun Hall, New Blendworth Center, the War Memorial restoration and many more local causes.

Over the next 6 to 8 months all 5 District Councillors are looking for opportunities to support clubs and worthwhile causes in the community and for the right projects we are very pleased to pool some of our funding.

Here are some of the guidelines on the types of project that might quality:

• Environmental benefits;
• Healthier lifestyles and activities;
• Support for disadvantaged people;
• Supporting economic development;
• Community engagement;
• Capacity building; or
• Other community benefit.

All of us support Horndean Parish Council too with funding for improvement on the play areas, new planting or benches in our wards.

To find out more then please email your ward Councillor below. If you are not sure what ward you are in then any one of us will point you in the right direction to the right Councillor.

Kings Ward Cllr David Evans – David.Evans@easthants.gov.uk
Murray Ward Cllr Lynn Evans – Lynn.Evans@easthants.gov.uk
Hazleton Blendworth Ward Cllr Elaine Tickell – Elaine.Tickell@easthants.gov.uk
Catherington Lovedean Ward Cllr Sara Schillemore – Sara.Schillemore@easthants.gov.uk
Downs Ward Cllr Guy Shepherd – Guy.Shepherd@easthants.gov.uk

This years Armed Forces Day ceremony is on Saturday 27th June at 6pm in the village square by the War Memorial where Members of the armed forces, veterans and uniformed organisations will parade.

The service is led, as always by The Reverend Rosemary Donald of Holy Trinity Church and Vice Admiral Sir Geoffrey Dalton will lead the Exhortation. Lady Dalton will also read the Kohima Epitaph.

The Parish Council as always would like to extend a warm invitation to the community.

At the end of last year Hampshire County Council consulted with the local emergency services to see if they would support a trial closure of White Dirt Lane in response to the residents preferred solution. The emergency services would not support closure as they were very concerned this would affect local response times. Over the last months I have been pressing officers and the executive Member For Economy, Transport and Environment at HCC for road safety improvements, our next best option, and the decision whether or not to do this will be made early in July.

Very shortly HCC will be writing to the residents who live on the lane to update the position but to help ensure that the right decision is made locally I would welcome the support of a resident acting on behalf of everyone affected to help present the collective view as a deputation for the meeting.

Here is a link to the exhibition drawings: White Dirt Lane Exhibition Drawings

marge.harvey@hants.gov.uk

My 2015 / 2016 Hampshire County Council grant funding allowance has been renewed and I would like to invite clubs, groups and organisations in the Catherington division to contact me if they have a good cause they would like supported.

I regularly support Homestart Butser as they do such good work in our area and I have supported Merchistoun Hall with money towards their gates. I also have supported the blind deaf association and the small children’s group with money towards learning toys but these are only a snapshot of the groups that I have helped.

The organisation applying must be sustainable and hold a bank account. A good size grant is £500 to £2,000 but the amount can be as small as £100, it just depends on the project. I did give £4000 over a couple of years towards the outdoor learning centre at St Johns school in Rowlands Castle for different projects. Please get in touch and we can talk ideas through.

I am not allowed to pay wages with the money, apart from this it is quite flexible and once approved, each project is overseen by HCC who make the final decision about the money given.

For more information click on this link: <a href=”http://www.w3schools.com” target=”_blank”>County Councillor Grant Details</a> or email Cllr Harvey directly on Marge.harvey@hants.gov.uk

The Land East Of Horndean development plans our housing needs in to the ‘least worst place’ to put the houses but does have an impact on that area. One of these is Hazleton Country Supplies, a family business on the Hazleton Farm site. They are looking to relocate to Manor Farm, Clanfield. I think it is important that we consider how we can best support the continuity of this business and invite readers to bear this in mind, form a view and make representation as you see fit.

Hazleton Country Supplies have commissioned the following advert:

“As you are all aware, there is a planning application with EHDC for houses to be built on our current location. With this in mind we have had to look to relocate, our preferred new site is Manor Farm, North Lane, Clanfield, trying to stay as local as possible in order that we can carry on our family run business supplying you all with services we provide.

Unfortunately since the planning application has been put in we have been faced with objections from the local community of the new location due to traffic concerns. If you would like and want us to carry on trading at the new location ,could you please read the attached article and support us by writing your views on the East Hants Website, Quoting reference 38049 BEFORE 26TH JUNE. 

Many Thanks for your help, All the team at Hazleton Country Supplies.”

Click on the image to enlarge.

There is a link to the East Hants Planning Portal on the right hand side of this blog and the planning application number is 38049. You can submit comments to the case officer online by clicking the comment tab.

Spot Scams, Stop Scams

Each year millions of people in the UK fall prey to scammers. Some frontline scam fighters estimate the total cost to consumers of mass-marketed scams could be as much as £5 billion. The truth is – with reporting levels as low as 5 per cent for some types of scams – we don’t really know.

So the figures don’t always help. Talking in hundreds, thousands, millions even billions of pounds undervalues the true cost of scams: the blight they bring to lonely lives, the emotional trauma for families, the widespread loss of confidence among consumers. Sometimes the impact is ruinous: a lifetime of careful planning and saving wiped clean in the space of a telephone conversation, at the stroke of a pen, in the click of a mouse.

Some scams may seem by comparison trivial, the losses low-impact. But try telling that to a family living on a breadline budget being stung for charges on non-existent loans by unscrupulous credit brokers, or a mum or dad looking for birthday presents online only to end up empty handed and out of pocket.

Scam Prevention Advice
• If it sounds too good to be true it probably is.
• If you haven’t bought a ticket – you can’t win it.
• You shouldn’t have to pay anything to get a prize.
• If in doubt, don’t reply. Bin it, delete it or hang up.
• Contacted out of the blue – be suspicious.
• Don’t be rushed – resist pressure to make a decision straight away.
• Never send money to someone you have never met.
• Walk away from job ads that ask for money in advance.
• Your bank will never attend your home to collect cash, your pin, payment card or chequebook if you are a victim of fraud.
• Your bank will never phone you to ask for your PIN or your online banking password.
• Your bank will never ask you to transfer money to a new account for fraud reasons.
• Suspect a phone scam? Hang up, wait five minutes to clear the line or use another phone to call your bank.
• Genuine computer firms do not make unsolicited phone calls to help you fix your computer.
• Don’t suffer in silence – speak out about scams.

Don’t be Rushed Don’t Be Hushed Scams Awareness Month 2015 (SAM15) is about consumers getting together with the help of their representative organisations including the Citizens Advice service and trading standards services. It’s about consumers refusing to be rushed by scammers, refusing to be hushed into silence by a sense of shame, foolhardiness, or weary acceptance. It is about creating a community of informed, confident consumers, alert to the dangers, assertive in dealing with that out of the blue contact; that ambush lurking in the detail; consumers decisive about what to do next. And consumers prepared to share what they have learned, look out for others in their communities, the vulnerable, the inexperienced, who – as the statistics tell us – will be targeted repeatedly unless we all speak out about scams.

Some key facts about scams
• £5 billion – the estimated amount lost each year by UK consumers to mass-marketed scams via phone and post.
• Nearly half of people in the UK (48 per cent) have been targeted by a scam.
• Scams by contact method reported to Action Fraud in 2014: telephone (including internet assisted calls) 38 per cent; online sales 20 per cent; email 14 per cent; doorstep/face to face 14 per cent.
• Every year more than three million people in the UK fall victim to scams losing hundreds, sometimes thousands, even hundreds of thousands of pounds.
• Just five per cent of scams are reported.
• Losses to vishing (phone) scams more than trebled in 2014 from £7m to nearly £24 million, according to Financial Fraud Action UK; 58 per cent of people reported receiving suspicious calls.
• Job scams are on the rise: £4,000 is the average loss with the 18–25 the most defrauded age group in this category.
• More than half (52 per cent) of the number of victims of dating fraud reported suffering ill-health as a consequence.
• £495 million – the total cost of pension scams known to the Pensions Regulator.
• £670 million – the total annual cost to victims of the top ten online scams.
• There are some dubious practices which may leave consumers deeply frustrated or out of pocket, for example, a legitimate company providing a poor service or a utility company representative persuading people to switch without any financial benefit. These unfair commercial practices are not specifically addressed as part of Scams Awareness Month however people who do experience them should contact the Citizens Advice consumer service 03454 04 05 06.

Since the 1st April we have had a new team of police officers locally in the Neighbourhood Policing Team under the command of District Commander Beth Pirie. (We also have a response team, roads unit, dog unit and several others)

Locally we welcome Sgt Philip Shore, PC David Tester, PCSO Jo Killick and the return of PCSO Robert Earl who will cover Horndean, Rowlands Castle and Clanfield.

The new team are holding Public Neighbourhood Meetings and the next two are as follows:

RKadia, London Road, Horndean 13:00 to 15:00
A joint agency, drop in centre which will be held there the third Tuesday of each month, include housing and neighbourhood watch. Come along and ask any questions. There are representatives from Housing and Neighbourhood watch
16th June
21st July
18th August
15th September
20th October
17th November
15th December

Morrisons, Horndean 10:30 to 12:00
Come along and meet some of your local Butser Neighbourhood Police Team. You are welcome to ask any questions, you have regarding the area you reside, or raise any issues you maybe experiencing. The team will be at Morrisons, on the following Saturday mornings, between, 1030 – 1200.
4th July
1st August
29th August
26th September
24th October
21st November
19th December

It would be great if as many people as possible could make a point of seeing and welcoming them to the community and of course to ask any questions or raise any concerns you may have.

Over the next weeks the blog will welcome them individually with photographs contact details and profiles.

Please don’t forget about the Hampshire Alert system, a warning system which alerts you to crime in your area as well as missing person alerts, suspicious activity and more. You can sign up on http://www.hampshirealert.co.uk or scroll down to the article on the 4th May entitled ‘Police Hampshire Alert System’ to read more about it.

The appalling state of the footways (pavements to you and I) in The Spinney and The Coppice are at last going to be dealt with.

It was a major concern put to me by local residents during the 2011 District Council elections and I promised to raise the matter, which I immediately and repeatedly did with the then County Councillor however it was not until May 2013, when Cllr Marge Harvey was elected to Hampshire County Council that the necessary attention of the County was drawn to the dreadful conditions that residents have complained of for years.

Such is the way with Local Government that things have to join a queue but now this one has risen to the top. Thanks for persisting with this, Marge – a great result and I’m sure our residents will enjoy the results.

For information, the notification reads as follows.

As part of the programme of works being undertaken by Operation Resilience we will shortly be undertaking footway reconstruction works in The Spinney and The Coppice, from the junction of Victory Avenue to the junction of Bull Copse Lane. The works are programmed to start on Monday 8 June 2015 and are expected to last for 6 weeks, weather permitting. In order to undertake the works safely it will be necessary to close the footway each day.

Information signs advising road users of the works will be erected before the start of works.  A letter will be sent to local residents and an email will be sent to East Hampshire District Council to advise them accordingly.

Should you have any questions or require further information please contact the Operation Resilience team on 01962 813063 or email operation.resilience@hants.gov.uk

Cllr David Evans, Kings Ward, Horndean.

Sunley Homes planning appeal:

Last year EHDC Planning committee refused the Sunley Homes planning application for 40 homes on Blendworth Lane. This was a difficult application to weigh up as the development would have brought special accommodation for disabled servicemen, a very worthy cause, and a new parish council office, something that could help the Parish Council use more of its funds on community projects than renting a building. It would put additional traffic on Blendworth Lane and build on open fields in the conservation zone which would have set a very dangerous principle.

The planning appeal is going to be heard on Tuesday 9th June at Petersfield Town Hall from 10:00am.

The appeal is open to the public and for local residents will be a very interesting experience with Queens Council presenting the case for and against. Hopefully though EHDC will be successful in fighting the appeal off.

CATHERINGTON VILLAGE “THE BIG LUNCH” on Sunday 28th June from 12:00

The Big Lunch will be held by The Catherington Village Residents Assoc in the field adjacent to the Farmer Inn at Catherington Lane. All are welcome. This is an opportunity to come and share lunch with local residents and get to know more people.

Tickets are £3 per adult, children free. Drinks to be purchased from the pub. Food brought in will be shared in the Big Lunch. Ice creams will be on sale.

Number of activities including Archery, Tug of War, Bouncy castle, Childrens Treasure Hunt and many others. Please bring food to share, plate, cutlery and a chair!! BBQ available if you wish to bring food for BBQ to share.

Tickets must be bought in advance from Julie Crang on 02392 594956 or from CVRA committee members.

Become a wildlife explorer for a day and discover what’s living right on your doorstep by joining in at your local BioBlitz event. Our team of experienced naturalists and wildlife watchers need your help to find and identify as many different species of birds, bugs, plants and beasties as we can before the clock runs out. Just like a real scientific expedition, everything we find will be documented and passed on to local and national databases that monitor our local wildlife. With interactive activities for kids, grown-ups, beginners and experts alike there is something for everyone at a BioBlitz.

Join the Horndean Parish Council and visiting experts to discover the many plants and animals that live at Dell Piece West Nature Reserve. The first BioBlitz event for Horndean!

In the 24 hours help us to locate, identify and record as many different species as possible.

Drop in and see us on the day or follow this link http://www.bnhc.org.uk/bioblitz/horndean-bioblitz-2015/ to get an up to date programme and sign up for some amazing activities including…

Wildflower watch,Talks & demonstrations,Tracks & Signs,Tree trail, Stalls (information/membership), Spider spotting, Reptile ramble, Pond dipping, Moth trapping, Mammal trapping, Dawn chorus walk, Competitions, Camera traps, Bug hunting, Bat walk.

Start – 12pm on 12th June
Finish – 12pm on 13th June

Contact Carole Burnett at HPC for more details – email: carole.burnett@horndeanpc-hants.gov.uk
http://www.horndeanpc-hants.gov.uk