Dotted around the area are a number of oil wells. One is just by the A3M roundabout at Junction 2 next to the Gales Distribution Depot with more in the woodland on the way to Rowlands Castle. These are owned by UK Oil & Gas Investments who are imminently about to apply for permission from the South Downs National Park Authority to carry out more drilling and a production test of a new well from an existing borehole.

The well is between the Horndean and Singleton Oil fields and when initially commissioned by Northern Petroleum had an anticipated supply of 35 million barrels with a maximum potential of 61 million at a depth of 1380m.

In 2010 when the site first started to be drilled the cost to extract meant that a price of $80 per barrel made it viable so it is interesting that they are drilling with a current price of $46 per barrel. UK Oil and Gas are looking to drill one horizontal appraisal well, up to three horizontal production wells and one water injection well with a production run of 20 years.

UK Oil and Gas Markwell Wood Statistics

The site is about 2 miles east of Finchdean in West Sussex and at a planning application has just been posted by the SDNPA. Comments can be made on the link below until the 17th October 2016.

SDNP/16/04679/CM | Appraisal and production of oil incorporating the drilling of one side track well from the existing well (for appraisal), three new hydrocarbon wells and one water injection well, and to allow the production of hydrocarbons from all four wells for a 20 year period. | Markwell’s Wood-I Well Site South Holt Farm Dean Lane End Forestside Rowlands Castle West Sussex

SDNPA Planning Link

If you would like to comment on the application when it comes out please do so to the South Downs National Park Authority using the link above.

Are you concerned about speeding in Horndean?

Can you help?

Some years ago, as a Parish Councillor, Guy Shepherd was instrumental in setting up a group of volunteers to operate two Speed Indication Devices (SID) in suitable roads in Horndean.

The volunteers worked very successfully on establishing appropriate sites, moving the units on a regular basis and collecting data which was passed to the police so that further action against speeding could be taken where a need was proven.

There is no doubt that a SID unit impacts speed. The figures prove it. After several years of excellent work the original volunteers decided that they had done their bit and wanted to retire from the scheme. So the units are not currently in use.

We still have problems of speeding, sometimes in quite unexpected roads. Not all roads are suitable for SID (mostly through safety considerations) but there are plenty of established sites and more could be considered.

Strategic placement of the SID units reduces the speed of vehicles. very useful tools especially coupled with Speed watch and the Police. Can you volunteer to help? A few hours a month?

All equipment provided and maintained by Horndean Parish Council. Also training and support provided. If you could join in this initiative please contact either myself: Lynn Evans, Chairman HPC on: lynnevans11@gmail.com Or the Parish Office on: contact@horndeanpc-hants.gov.uk

An initial meeting will be arranged once responses have been received.

Sara and Guy invite you to our Quiz Night where we will feed and entertain you with our acclaimed quiz night. This massively popular event sells out very quickly and we look forward to seeing you on Saturday 15th October; 6:30 for a 7:00pm start at Catherington Church Hall.

The evening includes 8 rounds of quiz questions with a cash prize for the winning team. Also included is a Chinese buffet. Plates and cutlery are provided, but please bring drinks and deserts of your choice. There is a raffle too on the night with some great prizes.

We are looking for 12 teams of 6 and hope to see teams from the local residents associations, and perhaps the action groups who have supported us so well recently against some of the local development threats.

Entry is £12 per person on the night which covers the quiz prize, food and hall hire. If you would like to support us and have a great night out then please contact sara@schillemore.uk to book your team of 6, or let us know you are coming in smaller groups as there will always be numbers to make up.

Please confirm by email on sara@schillemore.uk advising the names of those attending and if you would like a vegetarian alternative to the Chinese buffet.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Cllr Sara Schillemore, Cllr Guy Shepherd

The next community litter pick is Sunday the 2nd October and as usual the team will be meeting at Morrisons in the far end of the car park from 9:30am. Sally and the regular pickers would really welcome some new faces who perhaps fancy a few hours exercise and to help keep our villages clean and tidy.

Last month the pick brought in 20 bags with beer bottles, junk food wrappers and plastic bottles.

Litter pick tools, bags, disposable gloves and collection of the rubbish at the end are all organised, just turn up and say hello!

The next Neighbourhood Policing Team beat surgery is at the Horndean Library on Friday 30th September from 16:00 to 18:00. If you have any questions for the Police, or want to find out more about policing priorities then please stop in!

Horndean Parish Council invite you to the opening of a new play area at Jubilee Field off Catherington Lane on Monday 24th October at 2:30pm. The new Jungle play area, Zip wire, Swings and Slides have been funded by Developers Contributions from local building works.

Herbert George ‘Blondie’ Hasler Talk – Sunday 9th October, 1900 for 1930

‘Blondie’ Hasler was a RM Commando Officer who led, what even the Germans later recognised, ‘the most audacious commando raid of WW2’; and he was a Catherington man.

Cdr Bill Evershed RN retd, who has lived in Catherington all his life and who remembers ‘Blondie’ well, will give a Talk about ‘Blondie’ and Operation FRANKTON at Catherington Church Hall at 7.30pm on Sunday 9th October.

In 1964, Bill Evershed walked Hasler’s 1942 escape route through France from Bordeaux to Ruffec and has, over the years, attended many of the French commemorations of this Raid.

His Talk will provide a compelling introduction to the formal Unveiling 8 days later on Monday 17th October of a commemorative Blue Plaque upon what was ‘Blondie’ Hasler’s family home in Catherington; a Ceremony which will be attended by Lord Paddy Ashdown, himself a former Commando of the SBS, Brigadier Richard Spencer, Deputy Commandant General Royal Marines and many members of the RM Association.

Bill has recently given his Talk to members of the Hampshire Fire Service who are now themselves  seeking to retrace by canoe the Commandos original attack up the Gironde estuary but this time to raise funds for Service Charities. He has also spoken to the local Catherington WI but his Talk on 9th October provides an opportunity for their husbands to attend.

80 tickets for the evening are available at £5 per head and proceeds will go to Service Charities.  Early application is advised so please e-mail Councillor Sara Schillemore at saraschillemore@gmail.com

Works have again started on the Gales Car Park – for a third time. Linden Homes built the carpark to a layout that was not approved and did not give the level of quality or accessibility that had been promised. As a result local Councillors and EHDC planning enforcement have been standing firm and made it clear the car park will be built to an acceptable standard.

Linden Homes claim they were let down by a series of sub contractors but it has also taken the issuing of three breach of condition notices to get them focused on putting this right.

The steps by the SPAR go leaving the ramp at the end. Two small landscaped areas with steps, litter bins and planting give direct access to the surgery building which is currently going through a process where it will transfer from Linden Homes to the surgery before being fitted out.

The image below shows the approved plans which include flint and brick walls, wrought iron railings, litter bins, seating and more.

The Boundary Commission has just published its review of the parliamentary constituencies in the UK and this, if approved, would see the Meon Valley constituency scrapped and merged with adjacent seats. Currently Horndean, Clanfield and Rowlands Castle are part of a parliamentary constituency that extends into Winchester but in 2018 this may instead mirror much of the EHDC boundary but stopping short of Alton.

Previous plans were shelved about 5 years ago during the coalition government when the proposal was a constituency that joined us with Fareham.

George Hollingbery MP who represents us would be left in a position where he would need to contest one of the adjacent seats or stand for selection in one which becomes vacant.

The UK Parliament has decided to reduce the number of constituencies, and therefore MPs, from 650 to 600. In England, the number of constituencies will reduce from 533 to 501.

The Boundary Commission for England is the independent and impartial body that is considering where the boundaries of the new constituencies should be. We must report to Parliament in September 2018.

In doing so, we have to ensure that every new constituency has roughly the same number of electors: no fewer than 71,031 and no more than 78,507. While proposing a set of boundaries which are fairer and more equal, the Commission will also try to reflect geographic factors and local ties. The Commission will also look at the boundaries of existing constituencies and local government patterns in redrawing the map of parliamentary constituency boundaries across England.

Here is a link to the Boundary Commission Website where you can access the map in full and read more information. You can also give your view on this through the website link.

There is also a Public Hearing which will be held in Portsmouth on the 27th October 2016 from 10:00am to 8:00pm at The Guildhall in Portsmouth.

Alert from our Neighbourhood Policing Team about a scam that is currently underway in our area

Hampshire and the Isle Of Wight Older Drivers Forum offer advice to older drivers on driving safely and are holding a series of ‘Drop In’ events in Portsmouth and nearby.

The next one is at Cascades shopping centre on Wednesday 28th September between 9.30am and 3pm. no appointment needed and it’s free. Visit olderdriversforum.com for further information or call 01962 846100

Your local Butser Neighbourhood Policing Team needs your help in setting the Local Community Policing Priorities for your area for the next 3 months. In order to ensure that we are working effectively in the community, we need you to tell us what issues are affecting you the most.

Our aim is to reduce Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) and crime and increase confidence in the Police, as well as to make your neighbourhood a safer place to live and work. We will give you information that indicates where the demand for Police resources is located.

All we ask is that you spare 5 minutes to complete this survey to give us a clear understanding of the issues that matter to you. We will use these results, along with Police and partner agency data, to set our priorities for the next 3 months.

PCSO Tria Gibbs

Click here for the Survey Link

The great Devolution debate continues with Hampshire County Council advocating a Unitary authority which would see all local control of services scrapped and centralised management of our local facilities from Winchester and on the other side of the debate all District, Borough and City Councils in agreement that a Combined Authority approach is the best solution for our communities.

For me I think that HCC does a super job of looking after highways interests around Winchester (where it is based) but feel that local issues are lower down the list of priorities and when it comes to support on planning issues they may as well be on a different continent.

The local District and Borough Councils have put together a information sheet with some of the pros and cons clearly laid out so that this is easier to understand and to view the 4 page PDF please click on this link HERE There is also a website Councils For Devolution where there is more information and a consultation where you can give your views.

I have attached an excerpt form the information booklet on the key pros and cons – hopefully this sets out the case more clearly!

The fight against fly-tipping is to be stepped up by East Hampshire District Council following Hampshire County Council’s decision to cut hours at waste recycling centres. EHDC fears that an increase in fly-tipping will be the inevitable outcome – a view backed up by staff at the centres themselves.

A recent residents’ survey, which revealed that most people are ‘satisfied or more than satisfied’ with the way the district council conducts its business, pinpointed the issue as one of the big bugbears of their lives.

District council leader Cllr Ferris Cowper said: “The inevitable increase in the curse of fly-tipping was simply ignored by the Leader of Hampshire County Council when he tried to defend his policy of cutting hours at the centres, closing them altogether on Thursdays and charging some people to use them. I know very well that for many of our residents fly-tipping is a nightmare which looks terrible, causes accidents from concealed sharp objects, destroys the appearance of their local community, encourages anti-social behaviour and even contributes to the spread of diseases. The local East Hampshire District Council is strongly opposed to these closures and we are deeply disappointed that the county council over in Winchester sees fit to press ahead despite being clearly warned of the consequences. I have met with my Cabinet and senior district council officers to judge our response. We know already from our recent residents’ survey that our fly-tipping service is considered important and is well regarded.

We also run a highly respected “zero tolerance” service on littering. As a result we are now evaluating the idea of investing more money in our littering zero tolerance service and extending that to the fly-tipping issue. We have to be ready with extra resources to clamp down on this nasty problem when the county council presses ahead with its regrettable closure programme. East Hampshire residents can be assured that EHDC will be investing in extra measures to deal with the consequences of the county council’s decision. Obviously the county council’s cost saving benefits to the public purse evaporate quickly when your local district council has to spend more money to clear up the ensuing mess.

It’s all very well for the Leader of the county council to promote a County Unitary in his response, which would end your local district council, but based on this example, the County Unitary idea will put cost savings ahead of service provision. That’s not my view at EHDC and I don’t think it’s your view as local residents and businesses. County Unitarisation is a one trick pony; it cuts costs, but at what cost? EHDC cuts costs, cuts Council Tax, improves and adds new services and does all of this at record satisfaction levels.”

The September Horndean and Clanfield Litter Pick will be on Sunday 4th September meeting at the far end of Morrisons Car Park at the usual time of 9:30. Litter pick tools, gloves and bags will all be provided and the rubbish taken away at the end of the pick.

The litter pick lasts for 2 hours and new faces are always welcome! if you would like a little exercise and help to improve our community please join us.

Sally.