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Parish Newsletter January 2008

Traffic Calming

At last a response from Hampshire County Council, for some action to implement the installation of traffic calming measures on the Axford Road.  Originally outlined by HCC Highways over two years ago at the Parish Council Annual Meeting, an on-site meeting has now taken place with managers of the Highways Department.  Specific proposals however, will not be put forward before April 2008.

Application for a 30mph speed restriction on the Axford Road has been submitted in the second tranche of Hampshire ‘Village 30’ scheme, to be considered for selection this year.  As an alternative to this application, it may be possible to implement a 40mph speed restriction within the proposed traffic calming on the Axford Road.

30mph limit in Ellisfield.   IMPORTANT PLEASE GIVE US YOUR VIEWS

Which of the following opinions DO YOU HOLD?

1. It is time for a speed limit of 30 MPH THROUGHOUT the Village Note this requires reminder 30 mph signs every [200] yards so quite an increase in urbansignage through out the lanes;OR
2. A speed limit is a good idea but JUST ALONG AXFORD ROAD where rat run traffic is bad. Village wide signs are ugly and detract from the rural environment and the effect of a speed limit in a spread out village like Ellisfield is just to catch residents who are driving perfectly safely.
3. NO SPEED LIMIT AT ALL. We’ve not had one before so why do we need one now.
4. NONE OF THE ABOVE

WHATEVER YOUR VIEWS ON THE ABOVE, THE PARISH COUNCIL URGE YOU TO DRIVE CAREFULLY THROUGH THE VILLAGE, WITH CONSIDERATION FOR OTHERS.

SID

The Parish Council are considering purchasing a share of a Speed Indicator Device (SID) that lights up as cars approach showing their speed, a wake-up call to those who travel faster than they think, you may have seen these on other roads in the borough. Potentially this equipment will be shared with other villages, so will be in use in Ellisfield for one week in every 2 months. Please let us know your views on this matter in answer to the question about SID on the last page.

Road Closure

Hampshire County Council Highways Department have informed us that they intend to resurface the top half of Furzen Lane approx. 600 metres from Church Lane towards Green Lane. Diversion signs will be in place before work begins. It was initially planned to do this work during w/c 28 January; however, recent bad weather has meant postponing the work until a favourable ‘weather window’ is on the horizon. Early indications show this may be w/c 10 February; works will take approx. 3 days.

Your parish councillors have objected to the expenditure on this project prior to any action being taken to install traffic calming measures on Axford Road, particularly relevant in the light of recent accidents. However, these works are funded from separate budgets and funds cannot be transferred.

Affordable Housing

Your council continue to work on a small 4 house development on a site next to Farrier’s Field that Lord Portsmouth has offered us as a gift. The current state of play is that we hope to select a housing association to work with over the next few months out of a short list of Hastoe and Hyde. The former are our current preference based on their approach to design and sustainability. They have worked closely with the Prince of Wales in his work to improve rural affordable housing and they developed the scheme in Herriard.  They have met with B&D Housing Dept who have indicated they would like to work with us. We now await their further detailed thoughts plus a meeting with their architects before finally deciding whether or not to select them. When we have a detailed plan we propose to invite residents to comment or have their questions answered through an open day at the village hall:

New Litter Pickers

We now have two new young people undertaking this role; Bryony Swanston looks after the roads south of The Fox Inn and Bell Lane, while Harry Hedges is responsible for the lanes in the north of the village.  We would like to thank them for doing a good job and helping to keep our village free from litter.

Allotments

You may have noticed that there are signs of cultivation in the Upper Allotments. We have been working with BDBC to raise funds to regenerate this village amenity. If you are interested in an allotment, please contact the Parish Clerk. On Friday 26 January, members of Ellisfield Parish Council and Ellisfield Allotment Diggers Association, met with representatives of Veolia, who manage the green waste recycling plane at the end of Busheywarren Lane, to discuss applying for a grant from The Veolia Environmental Trust; for which we may be eligible as we are within five miles of a facility operated by Veolia.

Phone Box

At last our phone box is in working order; following vandalism the phone was restored, but not connected. Finally, it is possible to use the phone using a BT chargecard or credit card, or for reverse charge and emergency calls. There is no charge for a BT chargecard, you only pay for the calls you make which can be billed to your BT telephone bill, credit or debit card or paid via direct debit. For further information, Contact BT on 0800 345 144 or visit their website. http://www.payphones.bt.com/callingcards/index.htm

Oil Syndicate

Ted Dowson has started to record the names of anyone who would like to join a domestic heating oil syndicate. The benefits will be two-fold, cost reductions can be secured if several people purchase oil to be delivered on the same day and there will be the added benefit of reducing the number of large vehicles driving along our lanes. Two group purchases have been made recently, achieving between 1p and 5p cost reduction, depending on how much oil purchased. Do contact Ted on 381529 or email edward.dowson@btinternet.com to register your interest.

Ellisfield Volunteer Group – help to keep Precept low

AGM Friday 11 January; attended by the stalwart few. Ted Dowson was re-elected as Chairman and thanked everyone for all their hard work in 2007 and it was agreed that the group would continue its work through 2008. Peter and Lyng Hopwood retired from the posts of Treasurer and Secretary, Chairman Ted Dowson, thanked them for all their hard work and Andy Swanston and Hannah Houstin-Lacey were elected to take on these roles for 2008.  Seumas Foster agreed to organise the Farm Walk and Bird and Wildlife Survey again this year. Do please take the time to contact committee members and volunteer a few hours of your time to participate in this community activity. Please see enclosed flyer.

Ted Dowson (Chairman, responsible for Gravel Pits volunteers), Seumas Foster 381443, Andy Swanston (Treasurer) 381171(responsible for Lower Common volunteers), Phil Self 381819 (responsible for Burial Ground volunteers)

Local Recycling Initiatives

These continue to be a success, the number of people in the village who have volunteered to provide a collection point for various items that can be recycled has increased. You will find a receptacle at the gate or porch of each property: Please take advantage of this and many thanks to all involved for taking the time and trouble to undertake this activity.

Printer Ink Cartridges: Ted Dowson, Woodpeckers, Axford Road. Your donation goes towards raising money for The WoodlandTrust.

Batteries: Seumas Foster, Northgate Cottage, Northgate Lane. Batteries are particularly harmful if disposed of in landfill as they contain highly toxic heavy metals that contaminate soil and water courses, thus protecting us and wildlife and help to protect the environment.

Mobile Phones: Tony Matthews, Mayfield, Green Lane. Any make of Phone with or without chargers. Your donation goes towards raising funds for the newly commissioned Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance

Brita Water Filter Cartridges: Jenni Krauklis-Gould, 3 Park View Cottages, Green Lane. Brita cartridges only to be returned to Brita and prevent more plastic going into landfill.

Clean Silver Foil: A container is now at the gate of The Acorns Axford Roadfor clean silver foil. Your donation of the foil goes towards hospice funds.

Clean Plastic tops from supermarket milk bottles: A container is now at Mayfield; your donation goes towards purchasing wheelchairs for hospitals.

Printing: This newsletter has been printed on recycled paper.

Planning

You should be able to access details of any planning applications made in Ellisfield via our website. You will find a link from the www.ellisfield.gov.uk homepage; however, Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council are currently experiencing technical difficulties and this facility has been temporarily suspended

The following planning applications have been received or decided since the last newsletter:

Neighbourhood Watch

An active scheme exists in the village with the following co-ordinators responsible:

Scheme 090 - Colin Balkwill – 381791 & email: colinirene@tiscali.co.uk 

The area covered is the Axford Road & lower parts of College & Green Lanes.

Scheme 263 - Jane Evans – 381470 covering Northgate Lane, The Green and top third of Green Lane.

Scheme 300 - Roger Graham – 381383 & email: rogergraham@btopenworld.com Covering the upper part of College Lane, Bell Lane and Church Lane.

Scheme 299 & Area Co-ordinator - Hannah Houstin-Lacey – 381 863 & email: laconsult@btinternet.com   covering the middle area of Green Lane.

New initiatives will be introduced shortly:

- for general information a NW pack will be issued to new residents almost on arrival, and it is initially intended to issue this pack to all households.

- 3 new signs will be positioned in the village shortly which will cover the areas which have no signage and need to be defined as one whole area inclusive within the scheme. 

Latest Neighbourhood Watch newsletter enclosed.

Hill Farm Pond

In the November Newsletter we asked if anyone had any objections to a move to register the pond above Hill Farm and the adjacent land as publicly owned property of Ellisfield.  There was little negative feedback and the Parish Council believes that it would be beneficial for the pond and the surrounding ground to be registered to the Parish.

It has been suggested that some improvements to the pond and surrounding land would enhance the village.  Obviously, much of this work will need to be done by professionals but we would like to know how much work villagers would like to see carried out and indeed whether you would like to join a working party.

Suggested works include:

• Clearing the pond of some of the fallen trees, and some of the considerable accumulation of fallen leaves and silt washed from the road.This would have to be carried out with care, as the pond may be the habitat of the protected species of crested newts.
  
• Thin out and lift the crown of the trees.This would have to be carried out by a skilled tree surgeon.Before this is done it will be necessary to do a survey for bats, which could be roosting in the trees. (Another protected species of wild life)
  
• Remove some of the saplings on the adjacent ground south of the main pond.
  
• Selectively remove and control the considerable tangle of brambles and ivy infesting the site surrounding the pond.The ivy, which now inundates the trees, has already been cut to prevent further infestation.
  
• The area bordering Green Lane is cut periodically to control the nettles, which unfortunately proliferate and provide unsightly ground cover.However a little of this area can be left to provide a breeding ground for butterflies.

We hope to secure grants / local funding for professional work such as tree thinning and wild life surveys.  However, the usual requirements of financial grant aid is often that there will be an ongoing maintenance programme.   If sufficient villagers are interested and volunteer to join occasional working parties, it will be possible to make short work of specific maintenance tasks. An application will also to be made to The Veolia Environmental Trust for this project.

30 MPH Roads & Hill Farm Pond – Have Your Say

Please complete the following section and return it to any Parish Councillor or the Parish Clerk by 17 February. You will find a link on the www.ellisfield.gov.uk website if you would prefer to make an electronic response, or email clerk@ellisfield.go.uk

Which of the following opinions do you hold?

It is time for a speed limit of 30 MPH THROUGHOUT the Village

1. A speed limit is a good idea but JUST ALONG AXFORD ROAD & up Green Lane to Cresta Run & College Lane to Laurel House
2. NO SPEED LIMIT AT ALL. We’ve not had one before so why do we need one now.
3. NONE OF THE ABOVE

I support the Parish Council in purchasing a share of a SID                                                                                                   Yes/No

How much work do you believe is required on Hill Farm Pond?

None - leave it to degenerate                                                       Yes/No

Survey of pond life followed by some clearance of fallen trees/ silt/ leaves                                                                                              Yes/No

Survey for Bats nesting in trees. Thinning/Lifting crowns of  trees                                                                                                 Yes/No

Removal/clearance of some of saplings and vegetation on adjacent land                                                                                                  Yes/No

Remove brambles/ivy from ground surrounding pond               Yes/No

Periodically controlling/cutting nettles                                          Yes/No

Are you and other members of your family willing to volunteer for working parties needed to do this work?                                             Yes/No

Names:

Address:

Email address:

Contact Phone Number(s)

Contact Details for Councillors & Clerk

Parish Clerk -  Jacqui Matthews (Mayfield, Green Lane, Ellisfield RG25 2QL) she can be contacted on 381149 or at clerk@ellisfield.gov.uk. See also www.ellisfield.gov.uk/council

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Page last edited on 25 Jun 2008     © 2002-2008 Ellisfield Parish Council