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Whitchurch Industry Page This site now includes a page covering the businesses that operate from the Ardglen Industrial Estate area, press here to see it. Mother & Toddler Groups - Help needed Emily Bradley is looking for help in the Town's two organisations that support mums and toddlers, the Whitchurch Teapot and the Toy Library. If you can help call her on 895706 Carers Together Monthly SessionsCarers Together is a County wide Charity offering support and information to ALL Informal, or unpaid carers in the County. Music Hall Artists RequiredSparklers is planning its next musical which will be staged in the Spring. Volunteers, actors and singers, are required to take part. Funds raised will go to the Leukaemia Ward at Southampton General Hospital in support of one of the group's most dearly loved cast members. Volunteers Wanted by Kingfisher Day CentreVolunteers are always welcome at the centre. Bus escorts are desperately needed for a couple of hours on Mondays or Fridays. Training will be given. No qualifications required. Common sense, patience, a smile, a sense of fun and commitment are that’s needed. Please drop in to the Day Centre which is part of the site of Testbourne Community School, Micheldever Road, or call Julia on 893333. Whitchurch Teapot & Toy LibraryEmily Dudley is looking for help in the two organisations that support mums and toddlers. If you can help call her on 895706 Longmeadow Sports TrustLST is looking for a Secretary to help in the work of supporting local sport. Call David Gould 893851 Old News Visit the news archive for earlier news items Have you got any news? © Copyright theWhitchurchweb.org
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1st XI |
Reserves |
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| Sat 7th | Andover New Street - 3pm | Moneyfield Res - 3pm | |
| Tue 10th | Tadley Calleva - 7.45pm | ||
| Wed 11th | Petersfield Res - 7.45pm | ||
| Sat 14th | Cowes Sports - 3pm | ||
| Tue 17th | Horndean - 7.45pm | ||
| Wed 18th | Alton Town Res - 7.45pm | ||
| Sat 21st | Downton - 3pm | Totton & Ealing Res - 3pm | |
| Tue 24th | Lymington Town Res - 7.45pm | ||
| Sat 28th | East Cowes Vics - 3pm | ||
| Mon 30th | US Portsmouth - TBA |
The Millennium Meadow Committee has announced rules for the use of the Meadow.
Following complaints about "noisy parties and general anti social behaviour including negligent use of fires" the Committee has posted notices which state:
The Meadow's website places the blame on schoolchildren by stating "it is school holiday time and therefore the rowdy parties that are causing the problems may start earlier and not just at weekends".
You can now buy local eggs that are outstanding value.
Arnolds Farm free range eggs are no longer available directly from the farm 
but are now exclusively available in Whitchurch at the Parish Hall's Friday Market. As can be seen from the label on the left, extra large eggs are on offer. The difference can be seen on the right where the centre 2 eggs are "large", they are surrounded by extra large eggs which are up to 50% larger (by weight). The price is the same which ever size you buy and the eggs are collected from the farm each Thursday, so they are extra fresh as well!
As the decorations for the Carnival are taken down, decoration starts elsewhere on The Square.
Decorators are working in the old Redwoods which is a major detractor from the rest of the Town Centre buildings. Watch this space for further news!
A large notice about roadworks has been pinned up in The Square.
There are works which will result in traffic lights on Great town Bridge between 2 - 13 August. There is also a scheduled 2 day closure of Winchester Road between The Square and Micheldever Road later in the year.
The good news of the White Hart’s successful application for extended opening hours needs
your support.
19th July sees the start of Proud of Pubs Week, please support the town’s pubs, the Bell, the Harvest Home, the Kings Arms, the Prince Regent, the Red House and the White Hart. Pubs need more than campaigns to save them – they need customers - visit one of them now, and then again this week and every week!
The weather stayed fine for another great day, with the procession being led by the 
Salvation Army's Household Troops Marching Band.
The crowds were out in force to hear and see the Household Troops Marching Band march into town and then play a concert in front of the Town Hall almost 120 years to the day from when 
Salvation Army members won the right to demonstrate for the British people.
At the end of the concert the Festival Committee's Carnival Procession arrived at The Square and were led by the Band to the Primary School where the large crowd was able to sample food, games, pony rides, drink and most other forms of entertainment.
All the floats were fantastic but the category winners were judged to be
| Business Float | Gardens by Jo | |
| Vehicle Float | Cats' Protection | |
| Large Walking Group | Whitchurch Youth Project | |
| Small Walking Group | EngMusic |
There's lots more photos on the 2010 Carnival page.
An application to extend the White Hart's opening hours has been approved. The application is to vary the premises licence to extend the timings for licensable activities.
Basingstoke & Deane Licensing Sub-Committee approved the application for the White Hart to sell alcohol until 1am at weekends. This is great news for Andy & Julie Moss who put a huge amount into the town. Look at the pubs' events page for all the activities in the town's hostelries.
North Hants Bikes' move to the Town centre is working well. The business' 
new shop located alongside the Petrol Station in Church Street has been open for 5 weeks and is now attracting lots of visitors.
You can buy or hire bikes and associated equipment and get loads of advice. Sales of mountain bikes are falling at the moment and, probably because of the TV coverage of cycling, road bikes are now more popular. But whatever your need, as can be seen from the photo, there's plenty in Whitchurch.
As predicted, there were activities aplenty in Whitchurch in the sun this weekend. The Parish Fete drew large crowds, as usual, to The Lawn where they were entertained by interesting events in the central arena and took part in lots of strenuous and not quite so strenuous activities.
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More leisurely was the display of spinning and weaving put on in the lawn behind the Silk Mill by the Kennet Valley Guild of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers. |
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Hands on artistic was the theme at The Studio where personal tuition from Penny Spooner in hand building techniques and how to use a wheel was the order of the day. The three workshops run so far this year have been fully booked but there's another coming up in September.
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Working4Whitchurch's flags are out again in the centre of Whitchurch again. This time they're up for the Carnival next weekend.
The entertainment will start with the Salvation Army's Household Troops Band marching from Testbourne at 1.30pm to play outside the Town Hall until the Carnival Procession arrives in The Square at around 2.15. The Band will then lead the Carnival to the fete's new location at the Primary School. There all manner of stalls, games, rides, food and drink await for all the family for the rest of the afternoon.
There's lots of events coming up this weekend with good weather forecast.
The Silk Mill has a spinning, weaving and dying display by the Kennet Valley Guild of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers from 10.30am - 5pm on Saturday and Sunday and there's the ongoing exhibition, Bon Chapeau - Hats for stars of the stage and screen.
At The Lawn, All Hallows' Parish Fete is open from 2 - 5pm with all that is needed for a perfect summer's afternoon for the whole family. The second Pottery Workshops For Beginners takes place at The Studio offering hands on tuition. There's a new event at Tufton Smallholding from 2.30-4.30pm, Crafty Ways with Wool.
Saturday evening is rounded off with a summer concert at All Hallows by Singing for Fun starting at 7.30pm, when a varied programme of uplifting music suitable for a summer evening will be on offer.
With so much good happening in the Town why are some silly enough to try to spoil it? Posters put up on telephone posts and the fence outside the Gill Nethercott Hall are used by many groups to advertise their events.
Why then are they torn down? In recent weeks posters for events in the Parish Hall and this website have been taken down, not to make space to replace them with others but to thrown them away or put them in nearby rubbish bins - it's not kids or those returning from the pub - it's happening during the day. Sad, isn't it?
The Town Centre is even more attractive with the completion of the exterior of the Whitchurch Smiles dentist's redecoration.
Supported by a SEEDA grant, the painting of the sign finally removes one of the reasons Whitchurch was given a grant of £120,000.
The Parish Hall was sold at auction on 30 June. Several anonymous backers generously donated the funds which allowed the Parish Hall Committee to purchase the Hall for £50,000.
There had been some interest in the sale from potential buyers outside Whitchurch but it is thought that the restrictions that would be likely to be placed on redevelopment and the presence of a sitting tenant made the property unattractive to all but the current tenants who will now press on with further improvements and plans to made the hall into an even more attractive venue for parties, social occasions, film shows etc.
Fifteen St George's cross 5' x 3' flags on 6' poles, which are no longer needed in the Town centre are available for sale - please use the contact page.
The car park on the site of the Railway Hotel is now operating. A small but vociferous campaign against the car park has included complaints to Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council asking for enforcement of closure pending the outcome of the current planning application. B&DBC has responded pointing out that it is not in a position to do so.
Reasons cited for not having a car park include a purchaser would have bought the site for a new pub if the price hadn't been so high, the car park will attract more folk from outside the town and not benefit locals, there is a well on the site, the developer is only offering a temporary car park and that traffic levels will rise. The car park is welcomed by many on the grounds that it provides space near the station throughout the day for local elderly and frail who currently can't park anywhere near the station after 8am as all space is taken up by commuters, if extra visitors do come to use the car park they may visit local shops and the fact the site is now only suitable as a car park pending an improvement in the financial outlook, to leave it unoccupied would present and unattractive site to those visiting the town by rail.
99 "neighbours" have been consulted by B&DBC, some of these are those who objected to the last application and come from as far away as Farnborough. Whether this is "local democracy" appears open to question.
The Parish Hall Committee's solicitor has just advised that its current lease, which has over 3 years to run, appears to come under the heading of a "Business Tenancy" as the Committee uses it for social events and runs events that make a profit.
The impact of this is that the tenancy doesn't come to an end "on the termination of the contract of the tenancy, but continues until terminated by the prescribed form of notice. The tenant then has the right to to apply to the court for a new tenancy." When the PHC's Secretary contacted them, the estate agents said they knew about the Business Tenancy but it is not explicitly mentioned in the material supplied to potential buyers (it merely points out "The property is currently used as a Village Hall and is let on a 10 year lease dating from 1 September 2003").
The PHC is very pleased with this news which would point to its being able to rent the Hall for as long as they choose to do so, irrespective of who owns it. The Committee still hopes to purchase the Hall at the auction at 2.30pm on 30 June in the White Hart.
Basingstoke and Deane BDC is working with other groups to bring a programme of activities to Whitchurch as part of its Streetz initiative. Activities will be organised for 11 - 17 year olds at Testbourne, the Parish Hall, the Gill Nethercott Hall and the BMX Track between 27 July and 27 August.
The scheme was piloted successfully last year and is being held in 7 areas of Basingstoke this summer. Included are drop in sessions at the 2 youth clubs(large screen Wii Games, Pool Game and Dance mats), BMX, dodgeball, a DJ workshop, basketball and street dance. A programme can be downloaded here.
The Youth Project needs a new Treasurer. Graham Varndell is retiring and the Project thanks him for his support.
Would you like to help make the Project even more effective by stepping into his shoes? If so, please contact the Chair, Nancy Miller, on 896867.
The Town was full of happy families with balloons this weekend. Smiling children clutching boxes of Sylvanian characters were part of the same scene.
The annual migration of Sylvanian Families from their London base to Whitchurch brought hundreds of visitors from all over the South of England to Whitchurch. The Gill Nethercott Hall was temporary home to the characters including Sorrel Cottontail and Freya Chocolate - a pair of huge but very friendly rabbits. Rose Timbertop said they had all been extremely busy.
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The first of the Town Centre bollards have been painted. Any Moss, landlord of the White Hart
, has sponsored two bollards on a theme of his choosing.
The bollards represent salt and pepper pots and include the Arkell (the hotel's owner) logo of a bee. Andy is a great supported of groups and activities in the Town and thinks that the painting of the bollards is a great idea which will brighten up Whitchurch.
Pictured with Andy is Steve Miller who spend over a day on the two bollards.
A great evening in the sun was enjoyed at the FOWPS Funday. Games, stalls, food, entertainment and wonderful warm weather made the event one that the large numbers relished.
The surrounds of the Gill Nethercott Centre have not improved. Those coming to the Sylvanian Families' Weekend and visitors to the Silk Mill continue to be met by a not very pleasant sight.
Clicking on each image will allow a close up. Nettles have been allowed to grow strongly in the area planted with willows. This has killed several and now the nettles have been hand pulled instead of being killed out as the plan allows for. If this had happened the willows would be around 12" high with leaves by now.
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| Overgrown Front | Thistles | Newly Planted Willow | Overgrown Back |
One of the biggest attractions for visitors to Whitchurch will be staged again this weekend.
The annual pilgrimage of hundreds to see the Sylvanian Families is scheduled for this weekend. The visitors will not only as usual be able to visit the Town's eateries but will have the opportunity on Saturday to see the dolls houses and accessories on display at Dolls House Hampshire.
The recent works which closed Newbury Road are now complete, but one stretch has been left as overhead cables were not spotted during the site survey. This meant that essential safety information was not obtained and so the contractor couldn’t work under them.
The 55m stretch will be patched later.
Town Council has a New Website
The Town Council has added yet another Whitchurch website. The site gives the names and has pictures of the Councillors and minutes of the full Council meetings.
A summary of the Council's organisation, with contact details, is here
Blight, which affects potatoes and tomatoes, is likely now that temperatures have risen. Warm weather and humidity are the conditions in which blight strikes turning tomato plants black almost overnight and killing potato foliage over a week or so.
The "perfect conditions" are at least two consecutive days where min temperature is 10ºC or above and on each day at least 11 hours when the relative humidity is greater than 90%. This happened on 8th and 9th June. The only answer, unless you bought blight resistant potatoes at the Whitchurch Potato Day, is to spray, preferably with a copper based fungicide which covers the plants in a protective coating. Unfortunately this only lasts for around 2 weeks or until it rains, so frequent reapplications are required if the weather remains warm and moist.
The forecast for the next 5 days seems ok (as far as blight is concerned).
The White Hart has a new 50" TV to give away!
It has been bought and installed to show all the World Cup matches, as well as on the big screen. By buying a raffle ticket, 30 mins before, during and 30 mins after a world cup match, you can have it after the competition ends. Enter as many times as you like and after the final a draw will be made and the lucky winner takes it home.
Adverts have appeared in the local press for the auction of the Parish Hall. The event is confirmed as being on the 30th June at 2.30pm and will be held in the White Hart.
The Parish Hall Committee would like to let everyone know that its current lease, until September 2013 will still stand and so existing bookings will be honoured and you can still hire the Hall for the foreseeable future.
The World Cup starts on Friday; the Town centre is decorated and most pubs are showing the games.
Large screen TVs in the White Hart, the Prince Regent and the Kings Arms will have matches daily and flags now brighten up the Town centre.
With temperatures just slightly higher than Friday's, Whitchurch folk and visitors lapped
up the music in the town.
Crowds flocked to Twangfest 2010 and were met with a feast of music, inside and out, plus lots to eat, drink and do. The highest 
temperature of the year made just chilling out on the grass or listening to the open mic sessions a great day out and then there were the bands on the two stages, Bangladeshi cuisine and beer inside.
Meanwhile in the centre of Town you could sit out on the White Hart's patio area and listen to jazz and later folk music.
Whitchurch's on-line weather station recorded the year's highest temperature on 4th June. At 4pm on 4 June it was 26° C.
Whitchurch's own jobs website now includes items for sale and services. Hugo Fox now offers goods for sale and services. You can advertise an item sale for £1 (+VAT) for a month or a service for £18 (+VAT) for a year.
The service is available across the UK but you can pick jobs, sale items or services within a given distance from your location.
Music All the Way This Weekend
Whitchurch is the place for music this weekend.
Starting with a free gig featuring the Psychic Spies, a Red Hot Chilli Peppers tribute band, in the Parish Hall (for those 18 and over). The event starts at 8.30pm and is followed by late opening at the White Hart.
The weather looks set fine for Twangfest 2010 on Saturday from 12noon to 11.30pm at Testbourne. The fantastic line up comprises redFlag, Tricky Micky, Mr Temper, Karrion, The Fortunate, The Guns Of Pig Alley, London, Le Chat Noir, Queen B, The Scallywags, Unexclaimed, The Plastix, KTS, OkCorrel, The Have It Your Ways, Bastad! Rats!, Rocco Lampone, Scorched Flesh and Ruins of Earth. And there's an open mic stage and plenty to eat and drink, so turn up from 11.30am for another great event.
If jazz is more to your taste then try the White Hart's Jazz, Folk & Real Ale Festival between 12noon and 5pm on Saturday and complete the weekend with the fortnightly acoustic music session in the Bell from 4pm on Sunday.
Volunteer umpires and scorers are needed by Whitchurch Cricket Club.
Spend a few hours on a Saturday afternoon with Whitchurch Cricket Club, volunteers will be given food and drink throughout the afternoon. Contact Nick Dancer at cricket@thewhitchurchweb.org or phone 07786 376757.
The third recent running of the Pubs Race was another great success. Thirty teams took 
part, which organiser, Rob Dunlop, thinks is probably as many as can be catered for.
Despite earlier drizzle, the afternoon was beautifully sunny (for the third year in a row!) and the teams gathered at the Kings Arms for the 5pm start. There was a great atmosphere right from the beginning and the route to The Square and 
the Town centre was crowded.
Some teams were obviously intent on trying for a quick finish but others appeared keener on entertaining the onlookers as the roundabout became a stage for one or two performances. There's more pictures here.
The "watering" stops were all packed as spectators reveled in the afternoon sun, entertainment and some refreshing drinks. Around £2,600 was raised on the day. Well done the organisers and teams and well done Whitchurch!
| Most money raised | GI Janes | £449.50 | ||
| Fastest team | 1 | Wet Wet Wet | ||
| 2 | ASBO | |||
| 3 | Chunderbirds | |||
| Best Costume | Englego | |||
| Best team Effort | Girls are Lads |
The Town has a new Councillor as a result of Thursday's election. The results are:
| Bill Judge | 356 |
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| Mike Kean | 86 |
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| Linda Thomas | 497 |
Even though 295 more votes were cast than in the Town Council election last December (an increase of 46%) Basingstoker & Deane Electoral Office are saying that the turnout is down from 26% to 24%.
Congratulations to Linda, as the number of elected Councillors increases, and best of luck in what is very often a thankless task.
The White Hart has a fantastic offer next week.
All main meals taken between 12 - 2pm and 6 - 9pm from Tuesday until Saturday are just £5. If you haven't tried the Hart's food before now's an ideal time. If you become a "friend of the White Hart" on Facebook you'll be told by email directly about its offers.
For other special offers in Whitchurch visit the special offers page.
Bank Holiday Weekend has plenty on offer in Whitchurch. On Sunday and Monday why not 
visit the Silk Mill in the morning and Bere Mill garden in the afternoon?
On Sunday you can round off the day by watching the pubs race which starts at The Kings Arms at 4.30pm then "runs" via The Bell Inn, The Prince Regent, Longmeadow Sports & Social Club, The Harvest Home to finish at The White Hart. There's lots on in the pubs from lunchtime until late.
The sale will be by auction on 30 June at 2.30pm.
This follows an offer made by the Parish Hall Committee to the Administrative Trustees. The Committee are not happy that the only response was a letter saying the Hall would be sold by auction, which may lead to the possibility that the site is bought by a developer and yet another part of the community is lost.
The current Committee has renovated the Hall and, with some grant support, made the place financially self supporting. The Parish Hall is different from other halls in the town in that all its running cost have to be paid from hiring fees and it is not reliant on tax payers' money or one of the churches.
Many older members of the community are puzzled that the Vicar can sell the Hall, which was built with money raised by public subscription.
New Zebra Crossings are Happening
The new zebra crossings are in place, but they are very much off colour. The black is
very subdued and the white is very grey.
The picture on the right shows how a sheet of normal white paper looks in comparison, note how dull the "white" appears even against the sets alongside it, a left click on the picture will show it in greater detail.
Hampshire County Council officers are already looking into the matter.
The Leisure & Environment Committee considered the issue at its meeting on 17th May and referred the matter to the next meeting of the Full Council.
More Hospitality in the Town Centre?
An application to extend the White Hart's opening hours has been made. The application is to vary the premises licence to extend the timings for the following licensable activities.
Live Music: Monday to Saturday 11am - Midnight, Sunday Noon - Midnight.
Recorded Music, Facilities for Making Music, Facilities for Dancing: Monday to Thursday 11am - Midnight, Friday & Saturday 11am - 1am, Sunday noon - 1am.
Late Night Refreshment: Monday to Thursday 11pm - Midnight, Friday to Sunday 11pm - Midnight.
Sale of Alcohol: Monday to Thursday 11am - Midnight, Friday to Sunday 11am - 1am.
The application includes the fact that Live Music and/or Discos will only take place a maximum of three times per month and seasonal variations of bank holidays and Saturdays in December to allow for Christmas parties.
The consultation period for this application expires at midnight on the 2nd June 2010. All comments or objections must be forwarded to the licensing team by this date.
Your Chance to Comment on Future Housing Plans
The draft Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment has been published and Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council is asking for comments.
The assessment aims to provide information on the opportunities that exist to meet housing needs until 2026, to help the decisions on allocations to be made. The document (29 pages) explains what the process is all about and has annexes which are lists of sites which have been considered, some rejected.
Included but already completed is the Park View development.
Currently rejected is the Blosswood Lane Allotment site, but the wording includes the comment "The Council should, however, carry our further assessment work, and future potential will be explored further through the Local Development Framework".
The only brown field site included is that just off Evingar Road where applications for 46 & 54 flats were refused in 2008 & 9, it is listed as being suitable for 30 dwellings in the next 5 years.
A green field site is identified (actually listed as 2 adjacent sites) between Bloswood Lane, the new Park View development and the A34. Although its location means that its development would be against current policy its potential to provide 150 "units" between 2014 & 17 mean that it is included as a possible site.
A further 50 "units" could be sited at the Gables in the same time frame; again it is not in line with current policy, but it is included.
Land between The Knowlings and the Test, but not that part which includes the BMX track, skate park and football pitch, is deemed suitable for "low density" housing and therefore up to 200 "units" could be built between 2014 & 18; this land is owned by B&DBC.
Green field sites that are "currently not demonstrating the ability to contribute to the creation of sustainable communities" are Bere Hill, East of Bloswood Lane, Arnolds Farm and North of Caesar's Way.
The council is asking for comments on:
You can comment on-line (you need to register to do so) and/or visit a presentation to be held at the Overton Community Centre, Winchester Street, Overton 10am - 5pm Saturday 12 June and/or write to the council. You have until 21 June.
There will be an election for the vacant Whitchurch Town Council seat on 27th May.
There are 3 candidates, Bill Judge, Mike Kean and Linda Thomas.
The new Mayor, John Clark, took on his role on 10th May and details of the councillors and their roles, as listed on the Town Council Notice Board, are here.
New Zebra Crossings are Happening
Work has started on renovating the Town Centre zebra crossings. After delays caused by the bad
weather, work has started on removing the old paint.
Steve Goodall of HCC says that special paint is required to stick to the sets and that work is scheduled to be completed (weather permitting), out of peak hours, by the end of the week.
The work gives the lie to the Wikipaedia assertion that there are no traffic lights in Whitchurch. After weeks of waiting, it only takes one mention by thewhitchurchweb to get the job done!!!
Members of Andover Radio Amateur Club have again been contacting mills around the 
world. As part of the National Mills Weekend, yet again a radio station has been set up in the Silk Mill and attempts are being made to contact other amateurs in Mills.
Despite the area being very noisy (electronically) the club hopes to contact stations in Belgium and the Netherlands on the 80m band using some newly acquired equipment.
Whitchurch Town Council intends to put an enforceable ban on dogs in its recreational areas if no one comes forward with a scheme to tackle the problem of dog fouling. The unenforceable ban imposed last year has "helped but not alleviated the problem".
If no one comes forward with a scheme before 10 May for consideration at the next Leisure & Environment Committee Meeting then the Council intends to put an enforceable ban in place. Please contact the Town Hall on 892107 if you can help.
Sir George Young has been returned as Whitchurch's MP with an increased share of the vote (*based on the BBC's comparison with the notional constituency in 2005).
Votes |
Percentage |
Change* |
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| George Young (Conservative) | 31,072 |
58.3% |
+7.8% |
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| Thomas McCann (Lib Dem) | 12,489 |
23.4% |
-1.5% |
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| Sarah Evans (Labour) | 6,980 |
13.1% |
-7.7% |
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| Stan Oram (UKIP) | 2,751 |
5.2% |
+1.4% |
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Majority |
18,583 |
34.9% |
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Turnout |
53,292 |
69.6% |
+3.5% |
This represents a notional swing of 4.7%* from the Lib Dems to the Conservatives.
The results in the Borough election were:
| Keith Watts (Lib Dem) | 1,792 |
59.1% |
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| Bill Judge (Conservative) | 1,073 |
35.4% |
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| George Garton (UKIP) | 167 |
5.5% |
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| Comparison with previous results: | ||||||||
2002 |
2003 |
2006 |
May 2007 |
Oct 2007 |
2008 |
2010 | ||
| Lib Dem | 64% |
57% |
51% |
58% |
53% |
52% |
59% |
|
| Conservative | 31% |
37% |
37% |
42% |
44% |
48% |
35% |
|
|
Labour |
6% |
6% |
3% |
4% |
|||
| Greens | 8% |
|||||||
| UKIP | 6% |
|||||||
|
Turnout |
39% |
32% |
48% |
52% |
42% |
46% |
74% |
The turnout of 74% in the borough election was much higher than at recent local elections and higher than the borough average of 67.5% and a national average of 65% (for the general election).
The newly cleared area at the Gill Nethercott Centre is producing a bumper crop of weeds.
Those visiting the Centre to vote can see how well the new area is coming along, for those who can't get there or arrive in the dark, clicking on the image will provide a close up of the weeds, which are mainly thistles. More importantly visitors to the Town may well have a very bad impression of Whitchurch from the apparent lack of care being paid to this gateway area.
Yet again preparation seems to have been forgotten - why weren't they killed out before the bark was laid? It doesn't stop strong weeds like thistles.
And could something be done to give priority to cars entering the car park over those leaving. Forcing cars to reverse into Winchester Road is dangerous and against Highway Code rule 201 "Do not reverse from a side road into a main road"?
The junction of Micheldever Road and Winchester Road is being repaired. Work started this
morning to replace the surface at the junction which has been in a very poor state for some time and was made worse by the Winter frosts.
All that remains to be done now are the rest of the pot holes, the repainting of the zebra crossings, the pavements .........
New Co-op Ready for Official Opening
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All is ready for the refurbished store to reopen at 7am on Thursday. The interior has been completely refitted making more space for stock and a more open feel. The entrance has been moved to Church Street. |  |
The staff, who were redeployed to Thatcham during the closure, have been working hard to ensure that all is well for the opening. There will be an official opening at 10am by Brian Wheeler.
There is a cash machine, unfortunately not outside, but instore.
The Bloswood Drive Allotments has its own official website. Like all allotment sites in the town, Bloswood Drive has a waiting list for plots, which shows how popular gardening is these days.
What makes the Bloswood Drive site different is that it has a bright shiny new website 
produced by Andy Lewington-Mawer and Miranda Clitheroe. I won't spoil the site's thunder too much but it has pictures of the 10 rod plots (roughly 10m x 30m) and information about the lots of wild life there. The allotments have plenty of keen gardeners who are very happy to share their knowledge, enthusiasm and some of their produce with newcomers.
If you've ever thought of gardening but don't have the space, why not have a look at the website and maybe get you name down for a plot ?
Hannah Robins has taken over the café in Newbury Street and renamed it H's Coffee Shop.
Hannah and her team had a hectic day on Saturday and was quite 
grateful for the poor weather that cut down on the number of visitors for the rest of the Bank Holiday weekend.
The café was created by Teresa Job of Glass-foolery in the house where Lord Tom Denning was born and has been managed by Hannah. Glass-foolery goes from strength to strength and keeps Teresa more than busy enough,
