Author Archives: Monxton Matters

Test Valley Rural Policing

by Monxton Matters

Leaving aside the likes of CID and Intelligence, there are two levels of “Local Policing”.
The Response Teams are based at Hedge End and Andover. These are the officers who respond to 999 calls and the more urgent matters reported via 101. In the limited time between calls, they patrol areas based on intelligence and crime patterns.

Alongside that there are the Neighbourhood Teams, which is where we come in. Andover and Romsey towns are policed by their own neighbourhood teams. The Rural area, in-between and surrounding the two towns, is covered by us, the Test Valley Rural Team. We investigate local crime matters, work with partner agencies to solve problems and patrol hot spot areas.

Test Valley District covers an area of over 200 square miles and our patch covers all of the rural beats, from Vernham Dean in the North to Wellow in the South and from the Wiltshire border across to the border of Winchester. Police Sergeant Lyons looks after the team which is comprised of three Police Constables and three Police Community Support Officers. That’s a relatively limited resource for such a big area. If there was ever a time when a PC or a PCSO had responsibility for only one village, sadly those times have gone. Below are the team members and the areas for which we are responsible.

We work very hard to focus our attention on the right places and on ‘High Risk’ and ‘High Harm’ people and places. To do that we rely completely on the public reporting what is happening. We often hear people state that “crime is so bad these days”, but there are no crime figures to support that. That is either just a perception that crime is bad, or, more likely, an under-reporting of crime.

We know that sometimes calling us on 101 doesn’t always go through as quickly as we would like, this is often due to high demand. Please be patient – we need the information that you are ringing to tell us. You can now report to us online on our website www.hampshire.police.uk. You can report crime, road traffic accidents, anti-social behaviour, missing people, civil disputes, lost/found property, lost/stolen vehicles to us online. We can’t encourage you enough: please tell us what is happening. But please; don’t expect us to take reports via e-mail. You need us to be out and about, not sat in an office creating reports. If you try to report something directly to one of the team via e-mail we will politely decline.

When you make a report you may be told it will be filed as there are no lines of enquiry. Don’t worry: we still see what’s been reported from our daily searches, so we do capture the information.

Please consider signing up to Hampshire Alerts. We use this system to send out information and alerts. We send out location-specific alerts to ensure that people receive information that is likely to be useful for them. When you sign up you can tell the system the types of alert that you want to receive or do not want to receive. We are also using Twitter. Follow us on @TestVlyRuralPol. We are aware that many people prefer Facebook as a means of networking—we will be coming to Facebook soon.

The team resources are slowly coming back up to the numbers that they should be, so we will be able to get out into the communities that we have across our district.

Dogs & Heat

by Monxton Matters

The Blue Cross recommends the following for dogs in heat waves.

Heatstroke in Dogs

Dogs can suffer fatal heatstroke within minutes. Unlike humans, dogs can’t sweat through their skin and so they rely on panting and releasing heat through their paw pads and nose to regulate their body temperature and keep cool. Imagine wearing a thick winter coat on a hot summer’s day and you’ll understand why dogs succumb to heatstroke so easily.  Signs of heatstroke in dogs include collapse, excessive panting, and dribbling.  If you suspect your pet is suffering from the condition, move them to a cool place, preferably with a draught, wet their coat with cool – not freezing – water, and contact your vet immediately.  Once a dog shows signs of heatstroke the damage is often already done, which is why it’s so important to prevent it

Dogs in hot cars

Never leave a dog in a car, even for a moment. “Not long” is too long.  A car can become an oven very quickly even when it doesn’t feel that warm. When it is 22°c outside – within an hour – the temperature in a car can reach an unbearable 47°c.

Can I smash a window to free a dog from a hot car?  If you see a dog in distress inside a car, official advice is to dial 999 immediately and ask for the police. A dog in distress in a hot car is an emergency and the police will advise you what to do based on the situation.  Depending on the severity of the situation, the police may attend and break into the car to gain access to the dog, or they may advise you to do this. Call the police and tell them what you intend to do and why. Take photos and/or videos of the dog in distress and the names and phone numbers of witnesses.

How to keep a dog cool and prevent heatstroke

  • Make sure your dog has access to clean water at all times, ideally a large bowl filled to the brim. Carry water and a bowl with you on walks.
  • On hot days, walk your dog during the cooler parts of the day, in the early morning and late evening
  • Watch your pet for signs of over-heating, including heavy panting and loss of energy. If you recognise these signs when on a walk, stop, find a shady spot and give your dog water.
  • Never leave your dog (or any pet) alone in a car, even with the windows open
  • Be particularly careful with short-nosed dogs such as bull breeds, boxers, pugs, older dogs, and those that are overweight. These dogs can get heatstroke simply by running around.
  • Hold your hand for 5-10 seconds on a paving stone or road etc. If you cannot keep your hand there then it’s too hot for your dog’s paws too. So walk in the cooler parts of the day.

Attention Dog Walkers

by Monxton Matters

Dog mess is a serious health hazard. If you are a dog owner, you have a legal duty to clean up every time your dog fouls in a public place. There are marked dog bins provided in the village to dispose of bags of dog mess. If you cannot find one, please take your dog bag home and dispose of it in an ordinary household black bin.

It is an offence not to clean up dog mess on the Village Green and the footpaths. Under those orders, a person who doesn’t clean up after their dog may face an on-the-spot fixed penalty fine of up to £80. If a person refuses to pay they can be taken to the local Magistrates for the dog fouling offence and fined up to £1,000.

If residents wish the footpaths to continue to be cut, dog walkers must pick up their dog’s mess.  If residents see anyone allowing their dogs to foul the Village Green or the footpaths,  please report it to the Parish Clerk, Heather Bourner.

Monxton Residents Raise Money to Fight Cancer

by Monxton Matters
Local Monxton residents, Lorraine and Shaun Pullen, from Spinney Hill, Broad Road are walking 40 miles, through the night over and around the North Cornish coast on the 14th & 15th June. They are raising awareness and more importantly funds for the Brown Dog Cancer Charity.
The Brown Dog Cancer Charity provides essential equipment to help people fight cancer.  The equipment is state-of-the-art and improves diagnostics, surgery and care which either extends or saves lives.
The challenge will take Lorraine and Shaun along the undulating and demanding North Cornish coast from Polzeath to Bude. By the end of the walk, they will have climbed 10,439 feet which is higher than Ben Nevis and Snowden (combined ) at 9,973 feet.
If you wish to support them in raising money for this extremely good cause, please donate  using the link – https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/LorrainePullen3
All donations are welcome.
Thank you for your support in advance
Lorraine and Shaun Pullen

Black Swan Planning Application

by Monxton Matters

The Planning application for the Black Swan (ref 19/01229/FULLN) currently has a date for comments of the 14th June. However, it has been called to the TVBC Planning Committee by our Borough Councillor, Maureen Flood, which means that the new date for comments will be sometime in July/August and all comments received up to the day of the planning meeting will be considered.

Village Meeting – 13 June, 8pm

So villagers have the opportunity to attend the meeting/open forum on the 13th June at 8pm in the Monxton & Amport Village Hall and then provide comments either to support or object on the TVBC website and to the Parish Council.

Some villagers have commented that the application is somewhat confusing in that it mentions a village hub while also talking about a village pub. This confusion appears to be a conflation with a previous plan, which was supported by the Parish Council for a new village hall (aka Hub) on the Black Swan car park with this plan to build a new pub and change the current Black Swan building to a residential property.

Another clarification is that the developer has also used the term “relocation of the Black Swan” when in reality they intend to turn the current pub into a residential house and build a new building (pub) at the end of the car park, plus two houses at the front of the site. Normally they would need to get a change of use agreed by TVBC from pub to residential, which does not appear to be included in the planning application.

Villagers should note that Monxton Parish Council is currently neutral with regards to this planning application, despite the developer implying MPC support in their Design and Access Statement document. Monxton Parish Council (MPC) wishes villagers to advise whether they want to support this development and if not, advise any objections using valid planning grounds.

MPC suggests all interested villagers come to the meeting on the 13th June at the village hall as the developer will attend to address any questions.

Become a Parish Councillor

by Monxton Matters

Monxton Parish Council has five councillors and two will not be standing for re-election in May.

Of course, as its an election in May –  there will be five councillor vacancies to fill.  If 5 or fewer candidates stand – they are automatically elected into the post.  If there are more than 5 candidates, then the election will be contested.

If you would like to discuss becoming a councillor please speak to the Chairman Mike Cleugh, any of the current councillors, our the Clerk, Heather Bourner, for more info.  We really do need to ensure that new candidates stand.

What do Parish Councillors do?

Here is a list of some of the things we do:

  • We are consulted on all planning applications and tree applications within the parish, and those close to it.  However, the final decision rests with the Planning Authority, Test Valley Borough Council.
  • We act as a focus for funnelling issues to Test Valley Borough Council and Hampshire County Council.  We also lend our support to challenging other organisations such as BT and the Environment Agency to resolve issues.
  • We arrange and pay for maintenance of the footpaths around the parish
  • We contribute funds to the many excellent village organisations to help them with their projects
  • We own Monxton & Amport Village Hall.  The Village Hall is run by a separate sub-committee

How often does the council meet, and what other duties are there?

We meet quarterly for around 1-2 hours. Each councillor contributes to these meetings, does background reading ahead of the meetings and will get involved in other activities from time to time.

Is it for me?

Being a councillor means that you can contribute to your local community, have your say and help steer local initiatives.  Although parish council meetings are held in public, they are not public meetings – discussions are between councillors and public interaction is more limited.

You also build up a picture of which council is responsible for what service.  Sometimes these can seem to be overlapping – for example, Test Valley BC collect bin rubbish, but Hampshire CC operate the recycling centre and deal with the bin lorries.

The current councillors are friendly and we all get along well. We sometimes have different views and vote differently – but we respect the views others have and come away feeling positive that we’re able to do that regardless of whether the vote went ‘our way’.

How do I stand?

You need to be nominated.  It’s only by two people, a proposer and seconder.  Fill in a few forms and provide them to TVBC at their offices in Andover.

The link to follow is this one: for TVBC: http://www.testvalley.gov.uk/aboutyourcouncil/localdemocracy/elections/elections-2-may-2019-candidates-and-agents

and this one for some simple clear guidance: https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/candidate-or-agent/parish-and-community-council-elections-in-england-and-wales

Timetable

Publication of Notice of Election: Friday 22 March 2019

Deadline for receipt of nominations: 4pm Wednesday 3 April 2019

Day of Poll: Thursday 2 May 2019