In the last few days the scenes in Paris have shocked the Western World and security services in France anticipate further attacks. For some years now, the terror threat in the UK has been pretty high on the agenda and local authorities regularly get briefings on the terrorist risk and things to look out for. At our community police briefings it is a permanent agenda item and for members of the public who use trains, let alone planes, the warnings to be aware of left luggage etc are now background noise.

So, how does this affect Horndean? Well, as well as the duty to represent this community, George Hollingbery MP is helping to prepare a counter-terrorism bill giving the government extra powers to track extremists, said the threat to the city and its surrounding areas should not be ignored but residents should not worry as ‘huge efforts’ are being made on a local and national level to block any potential attack.

Speaking to The Portsmouth News, Mr Hollingbery said: ‘We have ferries, the naval base, we have police stations, we have public attractions, like many other cities, so it would be very foolhardy to say nothing will happen in Portsmouth. That said, huge efforts are being made to ensure that an attack doesn’t happen. All the security services and the government are doing their utmost to ensure the sort of atrocities we have seen in Paris will not happen here in Portsmouth.’

And he added: ‘It’s likely that more attention rather than less attention by the security services will be put on what is happening in Portsmouth. They are aware of the people that have left here to fight in Syria but it is very important everyone understands that I am in no way privy to what MI5 is doing and its intentions.’

Four men from Portsmouth are known to have died in Syria fighting for terror organisation Isil in the past year and another jihadi from the area is still believed to be there.

The Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill seeks to expand on what can be done to track extremists and ensure they do not pose a risk to the public. George is helping to pass the bill through parliament in his role as parliamentary private secretary to Home Secretary Theresa May. The bill proposes giving the government greater powers to electronically terminate the passports of known terrorists. For example, a terrorist attempting to fly back to the UK would not be able to as their travel document would show up as invalid when trying to get through an airport. That person would then have to make arrangements with the government to travel back before they are prosecuted.

But Mr Hollingbery said that person would likely keep their British citizenship given the ‘sensitive matter’ over whether the government should be in a position to leave someone stateless. The bill puts forward plans restricting where suspected terrorists should live as was the case under previous ‘control orders’ imposed by the previous government. Security firms would be able to access to the computer ID addresses of people who it suspects to be promoting extremist activity to keep track of what they are doing. It also seeks to tighten UK border security and make it mandatory for a range of authorities to have anti-radicalisation strategies.

Click here to read the full text in The News.

Je Suis Charlie.

As the New Year dawns, I’m going to offer some helpful numbers, hints and facts to help us through the winter.

The Meon Valley is sadly plagued with flooding on some scale every winter. Twelve months ago needs no introduction and fingers crossed a repeat is not coming, but we must be prepared. Many local areas like Hambledon, Finchdean and Cheriton operate flood action groups to co-ordinate a response to threats. Their work is invaluable, as shown last winter, and for many it will be the first stop if problems start. A call to the local parish council clerk will hopefully get you a contact number.

A major problem with flooding last year was inconsiderate drivers ploughing through standing water and soaking residents while causing even more damage to property. Can I take the time to ask motorists coming across flooding to slow down. At the least it will cause less inconvenience and at the most it could save lives – yours included.

And if you don’t believe me, perhaps these facts might help persuade you:
Standing water creates the potential for aquaplaning (when a vehicle skids through the water with no traction or control) and can also significantly reduce the driver’s visibility.
Anyone who thinks this is fun should also remember as little as an egg cupful of water being sucked into the combustion chamber of most vehicles will completely ruin the engine – prompting a costly repair bill.
And only 60cm of standing water will float most cars completely and just 30cm of flowing water will usually be enough to move the average family car.
Finally, a good proportion of flood related deaths – around 32% – occur in a vehicle so please don’t take unnecessary risks.

The Environment Agency has a flood map and operates flood warnings across the country along with helpful tips and actions for residents on its website at: http://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/environment-agency or you can telephone the flood line on: 0345 988 1188

Here also are the contact details of the district and county councils:-
Winchester City Council: 01962 840222 http://www.winchester.gov.uk
Havant Borough Council: 023 9247 4174 http://www.havant.gov.uk
East Hampshire District Council: 01730 266551 http://www.easthants.gov.uk
Hampshire County Council: 0845 603 5638 http://www.hants.gov.uk

By now letters will be arriving across Horndean, Rowlands Castle and Clanfield from George Hollingbery MP conveying his concerns about development in East Hants, and especially South of Butser.

As District Councillors we work closely with George on certain issues and ensuring we join our efforts on key planning applications and work to protect our community as best we can are key. George is leading an initiative with a planning summit which will be supported by a barrister from London who has very current and relevant experience in structuring objections to applications. This will help to ensure we are making the best use of case history to oppose unsuitable developments. This will be attended by representatives from EHDC as well as District and Parish Councillors and representatives from community groups and residents associations.

This summit will be followed up with a Public Meeting on the evening of the 17th October. If you would like to take part in this meeting can you email George on george.hollingbery.mp@parliament.uk with ‘Planning Meeting’ in the subject line with your full name, telephone number and postal address of everyone who would like to attend and George’s office will send out formal details shortly.