Horndean Parish Council would like to warmly welcome you to their Armed Forces Day service at the war memorial on Saturday 25th June at 6:00pm – Details Below.

Hampshire Police are holding a campaign to help raise awareness about confidence tricksters and scammers visiting you at home – something that is on the increase. The campaign leaflet is below and here is a link to their website with further information: Doorstep Crime

A new fraud has been targeting the elderly and vulnerable in Hampshire, with the ruse of an angry HMRC representative demanding monies for an unpaid tax bill. They are intimidating, threatening and many people have understandably been left feeling upset and worried. Quite often they will demand that the victim buys iTunes vouchers to re pay, or they may use different tactics similar to courier fraud where the victim has to withdraw cash or hand over their card. Another take is to transfer money into a fake bank account, where it is never seen again.
People are reminded to protect themselves using the following advice:

• Never give out any personal information about your bank account to anybody over the phone, the police and any other professional organisation such as HMRC, banks etc. will NEVER EVER ask you for these types of details.
• If the caller asks you to ring them back so you can be sure of their identification, hang up and call the company they are claiming to be from using a different phone. If you can’t use a different phone, wait at least five minutes before calling back.
• If you have given out information which could compromise your bank account security in any way, call your bank up to cancel your cards as soon as possible.
• Never hand over money to someone at the door to be sent off elsewhere.

• If someone comes to your door claiming to be from a company or organisation, always ask for identification and make a note of their identification number. Ask them to wait while you verify their identity. Close the door, find the number of the company they claim to be from from a phone book or your own directory, and call the company to verify their ID.
Consider using the Priority Services Register to set up a password for callers from utility companies. Contact your supplier to talk about this simple process, and its free.

Anyone who is concerned about similar incidents should contact police by calling 101. If a crime is in progress, please call 999.

For more advice visit our website – http://www.hampshire.police.uk/internet/news-and-appeals/campaigns/Doorstep_crime

Find out the facts about hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, at the next Community Forum to be held in Horndean.

The process for exploring land for gas and oil reserves hit the national headlines recently when planning permissions were granted for shale gas extraction and associated hydraulic fracturing in North Yorkshire. There is no shale oil and gas extraction in Hampshire currently.

At the meeting on Tuesday 21 June, representatives from Hampshire County Council will explain more about oil and gas development, the hydraulic fracturing process and how any local applications would be managed in Hampshire.

Councillor Ken Moon, the chairman of East Hampshire District Council’s Community Forum for Horndean, Clanfield and the Southern Parishes, said there is a lot of local interest in the topic. “This is an opportunity to come along and listen to the experts speak about hydraulic fracturing: what it is, what it is for and how proposals for hydraulic fracturing would be determined in Hampshire. This is a topic that is attracting a lot of interest, discussion and misinformation at the moment and I would encourage anyone who wants to find out the facts of the matter to come along to the meeting.”

Councillor Rob Humby, Executive Member for Environment and Transport at Hampshire County Council, said: “Hampshire has a very strong Minerals and Waste Plan in place designed to protect Hampshire’s environment while at the same time maintaining local communities and supporting the economy. It contains policies and guidance which guide oil and gas development in the county. The plan is also supported by a recently adopted supplementary planning document, providing more guidance and setting out expectations for oil and gas development in Hampshire. It is important for Hampshire’s residents to understand that any application for oil and gas development needs to go through a robust planning process, to be determined against the policies in this plan. Hampshire County Council would determine any proposal in its administrative area in its role as Minerals Planning Authority.”

Hydraulic fracturing is the technique used in gas and oil exploration involving drilling down into the earth before a high-pressure water mixture is directed into the rock to release the gas or oil inside.

Hampshire already has a history of conventional oil extraction, with three oilfields being located across the county, including at Horndean.

The meeting is at Merchistoun Hall on Tuesday 21st June starting at 6:30pm. Please come along and if you can it would be appreciated if you can pre-register interest with Rebecca Probert on rebecca.probert@easthants.gov.uk

The grass cutting this year has been started late – this is due to some difficulties with the appointed contractor – The Landscape Group (TLG) – and as a result the grass has reached an unacceptable length in some areas.

TLG have had some staff problems and equipment breakdowns and are pushing to get the backlog caught up. It isn’t acceptable so the penalty clauses in their contract are being invoked.

If you wish to log a complaint then this can be done by calling EHDC on 0300 300 0013 or emailing EHDC on info@easthants.gov.uk and the team will prioritise areas where lines of sight at junctions for example are a particular hazard. Thank you to those who have emailed me directly – these have been forwarded on to the customer services team.

In the meantime TLG have committed to catching up on all areas I the next 8 days (17th June) by working longer into the evenings and weekends.

Officers have charged a 46 year-old man as part of their investigation following an armed robbery at the Co-Op store on the corner of White Dirt Lane and Drift Road in Clanfield on Thursday, May 12.

Anthony John Journet of Botley Drive in Havant has been charged with robbery and having an imitation firearm with an intent to commit an indictable offence.

He has been remanded into custody to appear at Portsmouth Magistrates Court today (Tuesday, May 31).