As reported below, Whitchurch entered the QE II Fields Challenge to have a local recreation space preserved for ever and named a Queen Elizabeth II Field to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee.

More people voted for the land at Daniel Road, Whitchurch than for any other site in Hampshire!

Town Mayor Barry Jackman and Borough Councillor Keith Watts met on Daniel Park, the land in Whitchurch due to be preserved for ever as a Queen Elizabeth II Field, to discuss arrangements for the future management of the site. They agreed that Basingstoke & Deane Council, as owners of the field, should be held to their commitment to maintenance and improvement of the land in regular consultation with a local group of volunteers.

Keith Watts would be pleased to hear from any Whitchurch resident who wants to join the “Friends of the Queen Elizabeth Field, Whitchurch” by email to cllr.keith.watts@basingstoke.gov.uk or by phoning 896969.

While the Councillors were on the site some young BMX enthusiasts arrived to use the facility (see picture).  Keith said “these are the people we are doing this for, the QE II Field will be protected as a recreation space for future generations”.

Barry and Keith also discussed some ideas for a celebration of this local achievement as part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.  “Across the country, communities will be having ‘Field Days’ and Whitchurch will be welcoming anyone who wants to join our party.”

Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council have decided that an Environmental Impact Assessment is not necessary before a planning application can be considered for approximately 100 new homes to be built on land between Bloswood Lane and Park View in Whitchurch.

The Council’s decision, with reasons, can be read by clicking here.

Pensions Minister Lib Dem Steve Webb said: “There will be no more Gordon Brown 75p increases under this government”, referring to the outrage caused in 2000 when Labour raised pensions from £66.75 to just £67.50.

Cold Weather Payments protected
The Lib Dems have gone further for pensioners by protecting Cold Weather Payments.  The most vulnerable pensioners will be entitled to £25 per week during freezing weather to help cover the cost of fuel. Labour plans would have seen this weekly payment slashed to £8.50!

The huge rise in worldwide gas and oil prices is hitting local people hard.

Overton Councillor Paula Baker with Energy Secretary Chris Huhne

That’s why the Lib Dems are campaigning to help people save money, stay warm and go green this winter.  Local Lib Dem Paula Baker said, “These price rises are worse in Britain because of the legacy of decades of Labour and Conservative rule.  “They have left people living in some of the coldest, draughtiest houses in Europe. They failed to invest in clean, renewable energy – leaving us dependent on gas and oil.”

Taking Britain forward
Now the Lib Dems are taking action in government on these issues.  The Lib Dems want to make Britain a world leader in renewable energy – creating thousands of jobs and providing clean energy to millions of people.

Free and discounted insulation available for you
The Lib Dems have forced energy companies to spend much more on providing free and discounted home insulation to families across our area.  And from October 2012 the Lib Dem Green Deal will start – it’s Britain’s biggest ever home insulation programme.  It will create over 100,000 jobs and insulate millions of homes.

Help for pensioners
Thanks to the Lib Dems, less well off pensioners will receive an extra £120 a year to help them stay warm.  That’s on top of the £4.50 per week pensions increase in April and the regular cold weather payments.

Delivering for you
The Lib Dem Save Money, Stay Warm, Go Green will help many people in North West Hampshire.  Better insulation, help for pensioners and investing in renewable energy can help us save money, stay warm and go green.

ACTION CHECKLIST

1. Call your energy company to see if you are entitled to free or discount home insulation – if not, then remember the Green Deal starts in October 2012 and is open to all!
2. If you’re a pensioner, make sure you are claiming the right benefits – less well off pensioners should receive an extra £120 this winter to help stay warm.
3. Follow the top ten tips from the Energy Saving Trust to save money, stay warm and go green.

2012 marks Her Majesty The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and it will be celebrated in fitting style. The Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge, operated by Fields in Trust, is a fantastic new campaign to protect 2,012 outdoor recreational spaces in communities all across the country as a permanent living legacy of this great event. 

The campaign will give communities an opportunity to vote for an outdoor space in their area to become part of the scheme and be permanently protected as a tribute to the Diamond Jubilee.

Daniel Park in Whitchurch has been nominated to be protected permanently in this way.  The area includes the skatepark, the BMX track and the large field behind them with wide paths mown in the grass connecting with the public footpath to The Hangings and Bere Mill.

Votes for Daniel Park to be a protected Queen Elizabeth II field must be cast by 18 November 2011 and they can only be cast on-line by clicking here.

ENOUGH HOMES FOR WHITCHURCH BUT NO MORE

Borough Councillors Eric Dunlop and Keith Watts have agreed with planners that, in the next fifteen years, Whitchurch should not grow faster than it did in the previous fifteen years.  That means that we will be planning for an average of 25 new homes to be built in each year up to 2027.

The plan allocates two sites south of Bloswood Lane for house building, in phases, and provides for sites to be agreed later this year for a further 200 homes.  This approach is supported by Whitchurch Town Council.
 

PHASE 1
The first phase of development would be for 100 homes on the land between Park View and Bloswood Lane.  This site could provide 40 Housing Association homes and 60 homes for sale on the open market. Details will not be known until a Planning Application is put in.
 

PHASE 2
The owners of the Manor Farm land stretching along the by-pass have obtained a report from noise experts on the suitability of the site for housing and the Borough Council’s own expert has commented on the findings.

Planning Officers have concluded that there is land fit for 50 new homes on this site.  Eric Dunlop and Keith Watts accept this result but question if the landowner will settle for building just 50.

Keith says “Any work here must follow completion of Phase 1.”
 

WILL BASINGSTOKE & DEANE COUNCIL LET US DOWN?
“This is a good plan for Whitchurch but I believe that it could be jeopardised by a bad core strategy for the Borough” Keith Watts told the Cabinet of Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.

“I don’t believe that your house building target across the Borough will be enough.  The main reason is that it will not provide decent housing for all of our residents and their children. 

“I also believe that it will not be accepted as sufficient by a Secretary of State committed to increasing the availability of homes across the country.

“When we start losing appeals on green field sites, Whitchurch will be as vulnerable as anywhere else, despite agreed local targets similar to growth in the last 15 years.

“If planning appeals result in large housing developments on unsuitable sites, you will not be forgiven” Keith warned.

The Conservative Cabinet passed the proposed “Core Strategy” to go forward for public consultation early in the New Year 2012.

Lib Dem Children and Families Minister, Sarah Teather, has announced the extra money each school will receive through the Pupil Premium this year – more than originally expected. 
 
Whitchurch schools will get a £19,000 to support children from disadvantaged families.
 
News of the extra money comes after Sarah Teather recently announced that the total Pupil Premium funding for next year will rise to £1.25bn, double the amount in 2011-12. 
 
Thanks to Liberal Democrats in government, it will rise again each year until 2014-15 when it will be worth £2.5bn. 

Eric Dunlop with fellow Governor of Testbourne School John Wall

 
Commenting, Cllr Eric Dunlop said:  “Across England , pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds are three times less likely to achieve five good GSCEs than their more well-off classmates.
 
“Education is the best way to end the under achievement of disadvantaged pupils through supporting children from early years straight through to secondary school.
 
“That is why Liberal Democrats have ensured that Whitchurch C of E Primary School will receive £4,880 and Testbourne School will receive £14,152 as part of the Pupil Premium.  This is more than expected and will make an even bigger difference for our children.”  
 
Sarah Teather added  “The Pupil Premium will benefit poorer pupils, providing extra money directly for those pupils who need it the most.   This extra funding will help tackle inequality and enable schools to provide the extra support their pupils need to reach their full potential.”

A meeting in the Town Hall at 8.0 p.m. on Thursday 22nd September will begin the consultation on a new Town Plan for Whitchurch.

At a well attended public meeting in July, people volunteered to do various things towards creation of a Town Plan. A small group has been working on what needs to be done next. One member of the group explained the intention.

“A key part of creating a Whitchurch Town Plan is consultation – what do the people of Whitchurch want for their town? At this meeting the plan is to discuss various ways to do this and begin to share out the tasks involved to those who would like to be involved. There should be something to suit everyone.

“So please do join in and help find out what Whitchurch wants to be, so that the town will have a Plan that will provide a direction for the next decade or more.”

COUNCILLORS FILL THE PLANNING GAP

When developers get planning permission they agree to make contributions for the good of the community and to allow for the demand for extra residents on local facilities.

Until we have a new Town Plan, an interim list of what Whitchurch needs has been put together by Councillors Eric Dunlop and Keith Watts. This includes:

• Land for sports facilities
• Money to develop youth football pitches
• A site and funding for a dedicated Youth Centre
• A new Station Car Park
• Improvements to the junction of Winchester Road and Micheldever Road
• Improvements to open space land and children’s playgrounds to be specified by Whitchurch Town Council.

From 3rd October new rules will apply to bin collections in Whitchurch. As warned in 2009 on this website, any ‘side waste’ left beside or on top of the grey bin will be left behind where it is, not collected by the contractor.

Collectors will look inside green bins and if they see anything that shouldn’t be there, they will put a red or yellow tag on the bin and report it through a hand-held computer.

See the Borough Council website for more details.

Any chance of stopping the demolition of the Harvest Home was lost when Council leaders refused to use a new law for fear of having to pay compensation.

But the hoarding outside will be moved back. Councillor Keith Watts opposed the planning application for the hoarding because of the affect on the neighbours and the street scene, then the land owner offered to move it back in line with the front of the house south of the site.