News

Estate Agent Pulls Out of Whitchurch

Just as other business premises are improving their frontages and interiors in the Town centre, Redwoods has left its premises on The Square.

Redwoods' Operations Manager said that the decline in business had caused the closure of the office. A polite request to leave the windows clean and not to so obviously show that the building was not occupied was refused. The Operations Manager said that it was common practice and we should get used to premises in a similar state in high streets given the current economic downturn.

He did however state that there had already been several shows of interest in taking over the lease and expected new tenants to be in place by the end of the month.

Progress on Town Bridge

Hampshire County Council has just awarded the contract for replacing the bridge. But there are many "bridges yet to be crossed" in the form of consent from various bodies before work can start.

An HCC representative says that "Realistically we are still a few months away from installation".

Spring Flower Show Cancelled

The warm weather to date the year meant that all but a few of the Spring flowers so recently seen in bloom around the Town have finished - so there weren't enough to stage a show.

There were lots of children's entries in the class for Spring drawings and paintings so this will be added to the Summer Show Schedule.

To those who prepared entries, the Garden Association apologies and will try and get the timing right next year!

Old Library Development

The applications to build 3 flats and 3 maisonettes on the Old Library site in Bell Lane have been withdrawn.

Of over 80 letters sent to neighbours and other interested parties, only 8 responses for one application and 12 in the other were received by B&DBC, all were against the development.

The developers are believed to be changing the environmental aspects of the application and will then resubmit them - it is common practice when a developer expects objections to submit multiple applications which can mean that those concerned may only object to one of the applications.

New Parking Proposals - Update

In the first 3 days of the plans being on-line, around 50 users have downloaded one or more of the plans for parking restriction changes. Copies are available in the Town Hall and on line here.

Most interest appears to centre around the proposals for the Town Centre, the Winchester Road/Micheldever Road, Wells Lane and Fairfields/Berehill.

The major changes seem to be in the areas of the Micheldever Road/Winchester Road Junction with double yellow lines and Berehill/Fairfields with the introduction of limited waiting and permit parking.

There are 8 areas each with its own plan some needs lots of magnification (and rotating counterclockwise to read):

Comments can be made until 1 May in writing to Ian James, Civic Offices, London Road, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 4AH or ian.janes@basingstoke.gov.uk

It's Rambling Time Again

Next Wednesday sees the first of Whitchurch Ramblers evening. Starting with an easy 2.5 miles.

Meet at Bell Street Car Park at 7pm on 2nd April, with stout walking shoes and a camera. Full details are at www.whitchurchramblers.org.uk.

Borough Council Elections

Both of the Town's Borough Council seats are to be contested on 1 May 2008. The Publication of Notice of Election is Thursday 27th March and completed nomination papers can then be returned until noon on Friday 4th April 2008. Apparently political agents have already been sent nomination papers.

The statement of persons nominated will then be published from noon on Tuesday 8th April and copies of the statements will be put on noticeboards throughout the borough and then on the web.

More information from geraldine.hagley@basingstoke.gov.uk or 01256 845264. As at today there is no information at all on the subject on the BD&BC website.

Whitchurch on TV

The Potato Days held earlier this year featured on BBC TV's inside out on Friday 21 March. If you missed it you can still download the video until 28 March here.

The Day is featured in the last 10 minutes of the programme but took a team of 4 a whole day to shoot!

Whitchurch Spring Show

Spring is here whatever calendars may say! On 5th April the annual Spring Flower Show will be held in the Methodist Church Hall.

There are classes for flower arranging, cut Spring flowers, flowers growing in pots, bowls and baskets, culinary, children and photography. There's an entry here or at 1 Winchester Street, the Old Paper Shop, House 'n Home and Flower Power.

Cheaper Shopping in Whitchurch

This website's price check might not be as comprehensive as those seen on TV but large organic eggs in Asda and Tesco are currently £1.98 for 6 and £1.50 in John Dennett's!

Large free are £1.35 for six compared with £1.45.

Support your local shops!!

Better Service in Whitchurch

The Town Centre dentist is now under new management and open for longer hours. The business is now called Whitchurch Smiles and is open every weekday 9am - 1pm and 2 - 5pm, plus Saturdays by appointment.

There is also an opportunity for more patients to register on 01256 893968.

Micheldever Houses Again

The builders, whose application to build 5 houses on the plot currently occupied by no 87 was rejected last September, have lodged an appeal.

There were 5 grounds for rejection:

• The proposed development would be out of character with the established pattern of development and would be contrary to the Hampshire County Structure Plan and the Basingstoke and Deane Borough Local Plan
• The proposed development would adversely affect existing boundary hedgerows, again contrary to the plans above
• The proposed development would adversely affect the landscape character of the area , again contrary to the plans above
• The proposed development would give rise to unsatisfactory building relationships with existing properties giving rise to unacceptable levels of overlooking and overshadowing, again contrary to the plans above
• The proposed development would lead to an unacceptable increase in traffic which would adversely affect highway safety along Micheldever Road and the junction of Micheldever Road and Winchester Road, again contrary to the plans above.

The developers claim that they had discussed all the above points with planners prior to the application and they had recommended approval.

Full details are here, if you have an opinion then why not put it on the Forum?

More services in Whitchurch

Men and boys can now have a haircut in Whitchurch 7 days a week. Taylor-Made Men's Grooming is now open everyday so there's no excuse for a lack of male sartorial elegance in the Town.

The barbers is now open from 10am to noon on Sundays and 10am to 4pm on Mondays, in addition to late night opening on Wednesdays.

Traffic in Whitchurch

The Town Council and Borough Councillor's traffic plans seem to have been thwarted by County Council officers.

The erection of £3,000's worth of warning signs would seem to be fairly pointless if motorists' reaction to those put up recently are anything to go by, see item below.

The suggestion that a roundabout might slow traffic also would seem to be a waste of money if my observations are anything to go by. The traffic slows, not because of any street furniture but because of the parked cars between the Weir and The Harvest Home. A mini roundabout would remove those cars, leaving the road clear (presumably for those who would like to continue their speeding as they approach the centre of Town from the A34 or leave the Town even quicker than they do now!) .

Station Parking Raised in House of Commons

Sir George Young is continuing his campaign for more car parking at Whitchurch and other local railway stations.

During a transport debate in the House of Commons he asked: "Does the minister agree that a major constraint on the capacity of the rail network is the capacity of station car parks? "Will he have urgent discussions with Network Rail and South West Trains with a view to increasing capacity on the Waterloo to Salisbury line, so that more people who want to travel by train off-peak can do so?"

He was told that while the Government accepted that enhanced car park capacity encouraged more people to use the railways, parking facilities were a matter not for the Government but for local authorities, Network Rail and, occasionally, the train operating companies.

Item from Andover Advertiser

Bulletin board is back!

With apologies to all for:

• the absence of the board for 11 days
• the loss of previous posts

The board is now back and is here!

Update is Published

The March edition of Update, Whitchurch's quarterly community newsletter is being distributed to every home and business in Whitchurch. You can download a copy here.

Under New Management

The Beehive Farm shop is now being managed by Sue and will soon be renamed The Village Bakery. There's a wider range of freshly baked bread and cakes and it's open from 8am - 2.30pm Mon - Sat.

New on offer are freshly made sandwiches to order , which Sue can deliver to cater for business meetings, plus hot drinks and snacks. The phone number remains 892431.

Old News is Now National

Details of January's Hampshire Potato Days have just been featured in Amateur Gardening, the country's largest selling weekly gardening magazine.

The article is featured as the top story on the front page and inside is the largest article, covering 4 pages. With a circulation of around 45,000, Whitchurch's name is now known even more widely throughout the British Isles.

Bulletin Board Crash

The webmaster would like to apologise for the absence of the Bulletin Board - a routine bit of maintenance on Friday has (temporarily) removed all the posts. Work is in hand to fix the problem.

Dentist open as usual

Noel Moffat would like all his patients to know that he is open for business as usual

Welcome back Jeff

Those who frequent the Town's centre's shops may well have noticed that House 'n Home has been closed during the week recently. This was because Jeff Phippen has been quite ill in hospital.

The good news he is back and House 'n Home is now open as usual.

Whitchurch Festival Progress

The outline programme for a month of events plus the Pubs' Race is close to finalisation.

The grand return of the Pubs' Race is scheduled for the Sunday of the late May Bank Holiday, so start training to push wheelbarrows and sort out your costumes!

The 5th July is the day picked for the Procession (authorities permitting) which will wend its way from Ardglen Industrial Estate to the Millennium Meadow where an afternoon of activities, including a hog roast are on the cards.

The Festival culminates in a bigger and better Twang Rocks at Testbourne. All planned events in the month , such as the Church Fete, are being invited to come under the Festival banner, in addition, new events such a 5-a-side football competition are being lined up.

If you want to help organise any of the events or just have an idea please contact Rob Dunlop on 07917 724 980 or come along to any of the Sunday evening planning sessions.

Full details (updated as plans firm up) are at www.whitchurchfestival.org.uk

Help wanted

Jo Dixson is looking for a volunteer certified accountant willing to validate charity collection moneys for a national charity for the blind.

There will be about 10 to 12 collection a year and each validation takes about 5 - 10 minutes. Jo can be contacted on 01256 892128.

Extended School Partnership

Testbourne Community School has just published its first extended school partnership brochure. You can download it here.

The booklet gives details of the school's links to the local primary schools and activities held in the school's premises for pupils and others. There are many useful telephone numbers and web sites. More information about what's on at Testbourne is available from Paul Bushell and Helen Bright on 892261

Speed Warnings ignored

The 30mph warning sign has been moved to the junction of The Weir and Winchester Road, but as the pictures show, it is not having much impact.

The sign is well inside the 30mph zone. Just beyond it are cars parked on half the road, the sign is highly visible in the twilight and had been on whilst the cars travelled (and braked) for at least 50m before the photos were taken. In the centre photo there is even oncoming traffic!!

Plans for Flats on Evingar Road

Outline planning permission is being sought for the building of 54 one and two bedroom flats on the unoccupied industrial plot at the top of Evingar Road. The plans are for 2 buildings on the steeply sloping plot with parking below them for 70 cars.

There are concerns about that number of vehicles joining Evingar Road at the bend where there is already problems with commuters parking during rush hours. One of the documents, submitted as part of the planning application, includes figures that show how the planned buildings would reduce the number of vehicle journeys in the area. Another worry is that the plan will result in its change to residential usage which will mean the loss of the only place left for Ardglen based companies to expand. The Town has already lost one employer to Andover because of lack of space.

The matter will be discussed by Whitchurch Town Council at 7.30pm on Monday 4 Feb, if you have any objection you are invited to attend or write to Basingstoke and Deane, call the Town Hall on 892107 between 9am and 12.30pm weekdays for more information.

Full plans are visible here (click on Documents) or at the Town Hall.

Film Thursdays are back!

The Gill Nethercott Hall film shows on the 3rd Thursday each month are to return. The first show will be on 21st February and they will continue until July; more details will be on the web when they are available.