Month: December 2022

Test Valley Borough Council – Christmas News and Updates

When should you put your bins out over Christmas?

As always, bin collection days will be changing temporarily over Christmas and New Year. See the image below to find out when to put your bins out over the festive period. Garden waste collections will not be taking place between Monday 19 December and Monday 2 January. You can find out more information by visiting www.testvalley.gov.uk/bins. 

Excess waste? Pop a bin bag beside your black bin and the Test Valley Borough Council teams will collect it. Collection teams will only empty one black bin per property unless extra bin capacity has been authorised.

Extra recycling? Pop your recyclable materials in a cardboard box beside the brown bin for collection.Please leave your bin at the edge of your property by 7am on collection day.

Where to find to a warm space in Test Valley.

A network of community organisations, churches, libraries, businesses and more across Test Valley have opened their doors to provide a warm space for those who may be unable to switch on the heating. You can find warm, welcoming spaces in the local community by visiting the Test Valley Borough Council Website. Find your nearest warm space.

Food bank support If you can’t afford the food you need, help is available, but you’ll usually need a referral to a food bank before using it. A good place to ask for a referral is your nearest Citizens Advice. You can ask for a referral from an organisation already supporting you – for example, a charity, school or children’s centre. There are also several community pantries operating in Test Valley. Find out more information here: Food banks and community pantries in Test Valley If you are able to give help, then there are a few ways you can do so: Visit Andover Foodbank or Romsey Foodbank online for shopping lists of urgently needed items. Alternatively, you can donate money via their websites.

Where can you recycle your Christmas tree?
The big day hasn’t arrived yet, but some of you will be thinking about what to do with your Christmas tree when it comes to bringing down the decorations. There are multiple, temporary sites around Test Valley that will be in operation from Wednesday 28 December to Monday 9 January, including Dobbies Garden Centre in Andover and Knightwood Leisure Centre in Valley Park.  If you subscribe to the Garden Waste Collection Service, Test Valley Borough Council can collect you trees, but if it is over 6ft please only cut it in half.

Andover Public Realm Design Guide Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) 2022

Test Valley Borough Council has published for public participation its draft Andover Public Realm Design Guide Planning Document (SPD) 2022 and is inviting representations between Friday 16th December 2022 and Friday 3rd February 2023. 

The Andover Town Centre Public Realm Design Guide is aimed at those who either develop, improve, or alter the public streets and spaces in Andover Town Centre. The Design Guide builds on national guidance and best practice and is concerned with issues such as movement, pedestrian and cycle infrastructure, traffic calming measures, use of space for events, the introduction of green and blue spaces, street furniture, materials etc. It is designed to provide a coordinated structure for the many different bodies who have a degree of control over the public realm.

The Design Guide will encourage the best in design and development quality, including examples of best practice and how they can be applied in the context of Andover Town Centre.

As the Design Guide makes reference to areas of Andover Town Centre that are adopted highway, it makes reference to Hampshire County Council’s technical advice and signposts the appropriate processes.

A copy of the draft SPD document, is available on the Council’s website Draft: Public Realm Design Guide Supplementary Planning Document | Test Valley Borough Council and is available for public inspection at the following Council offices between the hours of 08.30 and 17.00 Monday to Thursday and 16.30 on Friday:

•           Beech Hurst, Weyhill Road, ANDOVER, Hampshire, SP10 3AJ, and

•           Former Magistrates Court, Church Street, ROMSEY, Hampshire, SO51 8AQ

It is also available during library opening times at local libraries at Andover, Romsey, North Baddesley, Chandler’s Ford and Lordshill.

Representations can be made by either:

•           Sent in writing to Planning Policy and Economic Development Service, Test Valley Borough Council, Beech Hurst, Weyhill Road, ANDOVER, Hampshire, SP10 3AJ; or

•           Emailed to planningpolicy@testvalley.gov.uk

Only those representations that are made in writing to arrive at the address specified above (either hard copy or electronically) within the 7 week period from Friday 16th December 2022 and ending 12 noon on Friday 3rd February 2023 will have the right to have their representations considered.  Any representations should specify the matters to which they relate and the grounds on which they are made.  Representations will be available for public inspection with personal information redacted. 

Further information can be obtained from the Planning Policy and Economic Development Service on 01264 368000 or email planningpolicy@testvalley.gov.uk  

Southern Water Freeze/Thaw Advice

Following the latest cold spell and with temperatures set to rise rapidly this weekend, Southern Water has reviewed its approach to supporting their customers in the event of a ‘freeze/thaw’ style event.

Southern Water will be reminding domestic and business customers to be on alert for bursts and leaks over the coming days, offering advice about how to prepare their properties and how to reach Southern Water in an emergency.

With a thaw predicted to in the next few days, the most important thing is to ensure people know where their stop cock is located, should they need to turn the water off in the event of a burst. Where is my stop tap? (southernwater.co.uk)

With businesses closing for the Christmas holidays, Southern Water is also urging business owners to turn off the water if their premises will be unoccupied over the holidays. For more tips on how to prepare for cold weather, visit: Retailer useful information (southernwater.co.uk)

There’s supporting information available at: Prepare your home for winter (southernwater.co.uk) and How to stop your pipes freezing and bursting in cold winter weather (southernwater.co.uk). Southern Water also posts regular updates on its social channels – Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

In an emergency, customers can call Southern Water 24/7 on 0330 303 0368. Calls are charged at a local rate.

Southern Water has put in place a number changes across the business aimed at mitigating risk and improving its response to any incidents:

• Early and frequent communications to customers
• New measures to assess when severe weather is likely to have significant impact on water networks
• A complete overhaul of its incident management system, from identifying the potential for an incident, through preparation stages and actual incident handling to post-event management.
• Major investment to improve the resilience of our networks. In particular, Southern Water has added many more remote sensing devices to the water network to better monitor flows and deliver updates in real-time.
• Southern Water is also working more closely with Local Resilience Forums.

Scottish & Southern Electricity Networks Priority Services

Helping you when you need SSEN (Scottish & Southern Electricity Networks) most

We all rely on electricity day to day for various things, but for some, a power cut can be worrying or difficult. That’s why SSEN offer extra help and support during a power cut. Registering for the SSEN Priority Services helps them to help you when you need it most. All SSEN priority services are free.

Should anyone in the Parish have any power outages, you are encouraged to call the SSEN emergency contact number of 105. It doesn’t matter who you pay your bill to, SSEN will look after the network and are responsible for getting power to your house and restoring any outages. You can also download the SSEN Power Track App if you have and are able to use a smart phone.  It will give you details of any power outages in your area and will also give you details of when an engineer is on site and when it is likely to be restored.

Should you struggle to reach SSEN by phone to report an outage it can be done on there too with just the press of a button.

In addition – if you are not signed up to the SSEN Priority Service Register – you are urged to call SSEN on 0800 294 3259 (text phone 0800 316 5457) to sign up so that SSEN can attend to you first in an outage.

All the details are available on the SSEN Website here

How Your Area Has Changed in 10 Years – Census 2021

Find out how life changed for people living in different local authority areas in England and Wales.

Read about changes in median age, working hours, ethnic group, religion and more, with a whole article dedicated to each individual local authority area.

Each article is tailored to show your area’s census story so far.

Read how your area has changed by following the link below:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/articles/howyourareahaschangedin10yearscensus2021/2022-11-08

Today (8 December 2022) the ONS (Office for National Statistics) has also released census data on employment and industry. You can read the article on how industries have changed at a local level between censuses. Take a look at emerging digital and creative jobs and what is happening to traditional sectors.

Volunteer Police Cadet Units across Hampshire are urgently in need of new leaders

The Volunteer Police Cadets scheme provides a safe environment where young people can learn as individuals, develop positive relationships with the police and actively support the community.

Volunteering your time as a Cadet Leader is a very personally rewarding thing to do. It will enable you to develop your skills to inspire young people to become good citizens.

Whilst many of police leaders come from the policing family, the police welcome adults from all walks of life and particularly encourage those without a policing background.

You will undergo vetting to the highest national standards, including an enhanced DBS check enabling you to work alongside young people.

There are opportunities to become a leader no matter how many hours a week / month you are able to volunteer. The units operate around 2 hours per week in term times and you will be asked to assist in the running of sessions and supervision of cadets at policing events. You do not need any qualifications to become a leader as you will receive training to support you to develop your own knowledge and skillset.

You do not have to have previous experience, only an interest in helping young people achieve their best and reach their full potential. However previous experience of working within a youth organisation would be advantageous.

So, if you’re looking for something fun to do that is full of opportunities and is extremely rewarding, you can get involved now as a Volunteer Cadet Leader.

We currently have vacancies in the following locations. 

Southampton, Hedge End, Andover, New Forest, Basingstoke, Winchester, Portsmouth, Havant, and Gosport.

To apply, please visit https://careers.newjob.org.uk/HC/job/Other-Volunteer-Cadet-Leader-HC591651-HAM/846545501/ 

If you would like more information on the role, and have any questions, please visit FAQs for Leaders(https://vpc.police.uk/be-a-leader/faqs-for-leaders/ ) or contact Volunteer.police.cadets@hampshire.police.uk

Cadets

If you are aged between 13 -17 and would like to join a local scheme, please visit our website for more information – https://www.hampshire.police.uk/police-forces/hampshire-constabulary/areas/careers/careers/volunteer-police-cadets/

Southern Water – Cost of Living Media Release

Southern Water has just published a media release regarding the cost of living. The press release is available below.

Play the Census 2021 Quiz – How Well Do You Know Your Local Area?

See how well you know the population of your local authority area with the ONS (Office for National Statistics) interactive quiz, using data from Census 2021.

The ONS has been releasing its latest census data on population, ethnic groups, religion and much more. Here’s a quiz out of it all.

Can you estimate how many people live in your local authority area? Could you guess what percentage of people near you identify with a particular religion? The answers may surprise you when you test how well you know your area.

Have a go, see how you do, and share your score.

And if you play again, the ONS will give you different questions. 

Play the Census 2021 area quiz