News

Notice of Casual Vacancies – Smannell Parish Council

Smannell Parish Council – Meeting Cancelled for 3 July 2023

Due to unforeseen circumstances, this evening’s Smannell Parish Council meeting (3 July 2023), has been cancelled. The new date for the re-arranged Parish Council meeting will be published in due course.

Test Valley Residents Help Form Borough Council’s New Four-Year Plan

Test Valley Borough Council has launched its new four-year plan, which has been developed using the views of around 2,000 residents.

The plan for 2023 – 2027 will play a key part in determining decision-making, laying out the council’s vision, values, priorities and place-based approach for residents.

For the last year, Test Valley Borough Council has been engaging with residents to find out their priorities and what they want to see in the borough. This included workshops which took place at the end of 2022.

The plan was officially launched on 28 June 2023, with those who took part invited to be the first to take a look at the new four-year plan.

It focuses on five main priorities:

Sustainability – delivering lasting benefits for our communities
Connection – building upon our communities’ identities, strengths and ambitions
Environment – a greener borough for all
Inclusion – working together to create opportunities
Prosperity – creating economic growth that impacts positively on our communities

The Test Valley Borough Council Annual Corporate Action Plan will detail how the priorities will be delivered during the next year and on.

The four-year plan also reflects Test Valley Borough Council’s commitment to working with communities in a way that celebrates their uniqueness, sense of belonging and the ambitions people have for the places where they live.

You can now take a look at the full four-year plan by visiting www.testvalley.gov.uk/FourYearPlan

Planning Application 23/01669/FULLN – Lesleys Cottage, Finkley Road, Finkley, Andover

An application has been received for the replacement of a summer house at Lesleys Cottage, Finkley Road, Finkley, Andover.

The deadline for return of any comments to Test Valley Borough Council (Planning Authority) is 21 July 2023. You can email your comments quoting the reference number of 23/01669/FULLN to planning@testvalley.gov.uk

You can view the application here and enter 23/01669/FULLN as the reference number.

Smannell Parish Council – Finance Schedule July 2023

The Finance Schedule of Expenditure for July 2023 has been published and can be downloaded below. It will be presented for agreement at the Smannell Parish Council meeting on 3 July 2023.

Smannell Parish Council – Lock-Up Container Removal

IMPORTANT NOTICE – CONTAINER REMOVAL WORKS – LITTLE LONDON PLAYING FIELDS

In the interests of Health and Safety, please ensure that you keep your children away from the construction site at the Little London Playing Fields area. It is clearly cordoned off and the waste material has a considerable amount of rusty nails and screws contained within it. There is no access to this site by unauthorised persons under any circumstances whatsoever.

Music in the Park Event – Saturday 22 July 2023 – 14.00 to 22.30 hours – Little London Playing Field, SP11 6JF

Have your say on how the County Council could balance its budget

Hampshire County Council has launched a consultation to understand people’s views across Hampshire on options to help the Authority deliver a balanced budget over the next two years, through to April 2025 – as it tries to balance the books in future in the face of rising costs, higher demand for local services and years of underfunding by central Government.

To date, by planning ahead and using its reserves carefully, Hampshire County Council has successfully found ways to deliver services differently and more efficiently, saving £640m from its budgets since 2008. Despite these measures there will still be an anticipated gap in the County Council’s budget of £132m by 2025/26, and by law, councils must set a balanced budget.

With much less money available, some very difficult decisions are needed about the Hampshire County Council’s future spending, and it is important that the County Council listens to the views of residents and stakeholders, many of whom would likely to be affected by the outcomes.

Read more about the why the County Council is asking for the public’s views in this consultation.

How to provide your views

The Budget Consultation runs from Monday 12 June to 11:59pm on 23 July 2023.

Hampshire County Council would like to hear from as many people as possible to help understand and consider the potential impact of any changes proposed. No prior decisions have been made regarding the proposals.

Complete the consultation online

You can take part in the consultation via the online response form on the webpage.

The views submitted through this consultation will be collated and used to inform decisions by the County Council’s Cabinet and the full County Council this autumn.

Your views count

Your views are very important. We very much hope that you will take the time to respond to this important consultation and encourage friends and family to do the same.

Tackling Loneliness – Making New Connections

Loneliness can affect anyone and can have a serious impact on mental and physical wellbeing. This Loneliness Awareness Week (12 to 18 June), what better time to think about ‘connecting’ than via one of the Five Ways to Wellbeing – making time to regularly connect with others, stay in touch, give and receive emotional support, and share conversations and experiences.

If your social connections have reduced for whatever reason, or you’ve lost touch with friends and you’re unsure where to start to connect with others, you’ll can find a wealth of information online at Connect to Support.

Your local library is a vibrant community hub, providing a safe and inviting environment for you to connect with others, unwind, and learn. There’s something for everyone, with events and activities to suit all ages – many of which are free. Whether it’s educational classes, courses, book clubs, singing sessions, or storytime for babies and toddlers, there are many options to explore.

A place that is not only safe, but feels safe – Chief Constable Scott Chilton’s commitment to the communities of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight

A relentless pursuit of criminals, exceptional local policing and putting victims first – this is how policing across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight will be delivered under changes announced by Chief Constable Scott Chilton.

Since he took up the role at the end of February, CC Chilton has been working at pace to fundamentally change the way the force is structured to bring policing much closer to the communities it serves and deliver the requirements outlined in the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Police and Crime Plan.

The public now have a District Commander overseeing all aspects of policing – from the officers responding to 999 calls, the investigators dealing with crimes that cause harm in our communities and bringing criminals to justice, and more visible neighbourhood officers to deal with issues that are causing concern.

The Chief Constable has also announced the introduction of Neighbourhood Enforcement Teams, who will be able to act fast on the information and intelligence coming in from our communities to target hotspots and catch those who are committing crime.

These teams have been created from the extra 50 officers that the Police and Crime Commissioner announced on top of the 600 already recruited as part of the uplift programme.

Working with the Commissioner, CC Chilton also scrapped the requirement for officers to study for a degree to become officers and announced a new way to join policing, Hampshire Policing PLUS – the first of its kind in the country.

This means that those who want to join policing can spend their time learning the skills required to be excellent officers without the distraction of unnecessary academic study, which takes up hundreds of thousands of hours of their time which could be better used out on the streets fighting crime, arresting people and making communities safer.

Chief Constable Scott Chilton said: “When I became Chief, I was clear that I wanted my officers, staff and volunteers to not only create communities that were safe, but that felt safe. To do this I have set three really clear priorities. Relentlessly pursue those criminals that cause harm to our communities, provide exceptional local policing, and put victims at the heart of everything we do.

“Our communities want and expect to see police officers and staff dealing with the issues that they care about, responding when they need us, dealing with those who cause harm in our communities and making our two counties a hostile environment for criminals.

“I have spent a lot of time since being back in force talking about how all officers will investigate crime. I want officers and staff to be looking for every opportunity to target criminals, taking a robust approach to those who commit crime.

“There is too much time spent on unnecessary bureaucracy, or filling the gaps of other agencies, who are often much better placed and trained to deal with the issues we are being called to. This means we are diverted away from doing the job that only policing can do, and what my officers and staff joined up to do.

“This is what I expect from policing, and what the public expects, and why I have changed the way the force is set up to deliver on this.

“I am also passionate about being a force where anyone who wants to join policing should have the chance to do so. There are so many people who would be great police officers but have been put off from joining because of the need for a degree.

“There are many people, for example those who have served in the military, who want to join policing but whose skills and life experience are not recognised under the degree scheme. Not only does that make them feel completely devalued, it also means we are missing out on some really good people who could make really good police officers.

“I also heard loud and clear from many of the student officers that time spent on academic study could be better spent with more experienced officers, out of the classroom, learning on the job and tackling crime.

“That’s why I got rid of this requirement and created Hampshire Policing PLUS – the first scheme of its kind in the country. It has gone live, so to those people, who want to be part of making a difference to our communities, my message is simple. Come and join us and be part of relentlessly pursuing criminals, providing exceptional local policing and putting victims first.”