Category Archives: Environment

Monxton Spring Clean Sunday 7 May

by Monxton Matters

Sunday 7th May 2017
10am to 12 noon

It’s time for a Spring Clean in Monxton so let’s all get together and make our beautiful village look great for summer.

Meet at the Village Green at 10am and we shall provide rubbish bags, gloves and waste paper ‘grabbers’.

We also need:

  • buckets, sponges/cloths, scrubbing brushes for cleaning signs and/or benches
  • garden shears, hedge trimmers & secateurs
  • lots of willing volunteers

We are compiling a list of jobs to do, but if you have a particular job you’d like to do, or you think should be added then please email monxtonmatters@gmail.com

Jobs so far:

  • All sign posts cleaned
  • Litter picking
  • Hedge or verge trimming
  • Ivy cut from trees, bridge, walls etc
  • Village Hall exterior to be tidied
  • Village green area to be tidied by the electricity sub-station

Please let us know if you’re coming so we know many to cater for. In return for your efforts hot and cold drinks, and bacon butties will be provided for all helpers in the Village Hall from 12noon.

We would love to see as many people helping as possible, and children and families are most welcome.

THANK YOU!

 

Pond Clearance, Monxton 23rd March

by Monxton Matters

As part of the programme of works being undertaken by Operation Resilience, Hampshire County Council will be undertaking pond clearance works in Abbotts Ann Road, Monxton at the junction with Chalkpit Lane. The works are programmed to start on Thursday 23rd March 2017 and are expected to last for 1 week, weather permitting. In order to undertake the works safely it will be necessary to close the road from the High Street to Duck Street between approximately 07:30hrs and 17:00hrs. The road will be open during the evenings and at the weekend.

Information signs advising road users of the works will be erected approximately 2 weeks before the start of works. A letter will be sent to local residents and an email will be sent to Test Valley Borough Council and Monxton Parish Council, to advise them accordingly.

Should you have any questions or require further information please contact the Operation Resilience team on 01962 813063 or email operation.resilience@hants.gov.uk

From Paul Clift
Highway Engineer- Planned Maintenance

Hampshire County Highways
Hampshire County Council
Petersfield Depot, Borough Road
Petersfield, GU32 3ND
Tel: 0300 5551388
E-mail: roads@hants.gov.uk
Web: www.hants.gov.uk/highways

Fireworks

by Monxton Matters

On Tuesday evening (14th February) at around 9m there were fireworks in Monxton. Whilst we don’t wish to curb people’s enjoyment, we would like to draw your attention that Monxton Matters received a number of complaints from concerned residents about their animals being affected, children being woken up, and also about the possibility of fireworks damaging/destroying thatched roofs.

A number of animals, both pets and livestock (and no doubt wildlife), were affected by the noise of the fireworks. There have been many cases where livestock have been injured or killed by fireworks, albeit indirectly.

We kindly ask you to let Monxton Matters know if you’re planning fireworks, so we can inform residents. Residents will therefore be forewarned both for their animals and to keep an eye on thatched roofs etc. Please ensure that any firework displays are well away from buildings.

There are now suppliers of ‘quiet’ fireworks and we urge people to purchase these instead – although it doesn’t lessen the fire risk.
http://www.firework-review.org.uk/quiet-fireworks/
https://epicfireworks.com/quiet-fireworks
https://www.buyfantasticfireworks.co.uk/quiet-fireworks-c7

Thank you for your understanding!

 

 

Andover Business Park: HCV Cap Removal

by Monxton Matters

Removal of HCV Cap at Andover ‘Business’ Park

APPLICATION NO: 16/01512/OBLN
APPLICANT: Goodman Real Estate (UK) Ltd
PROPOSAL: Modify the planning obligation associated with Planning Permission 09/02392/OUTN by removal of Part II of Schedule 6 regarding HCV Traffic Demand Management systems
SITE: Andover Business Park, Monxton Road, Andover

Pete Parfrey, as a representative of Monxton Parish Council, attended a meeting of the Northern Area Planning Committee at TVBC Beechurst offices on 17th November where the application by Goodmans to remove the limit of 85 HCVs per hour was heard and considered.

It was interesting to hear Goodmans state that the current figure is only 41 HCVs per hour, and that their projections show they will not reach the 85 limit, despite building ever larger distribution, units requiring many heavy vehicle movements, such as the new ‘Angle 340’. The following statement is taken from their website today, “Global integrated property group, Goodman, can confirm work is underway on a state-of- the-art 336,300 sq ft industrial distribution unit at Andover Business Park”

They stated that they needed to remove the cap because of the way they had (over) allocated HCV slots in their leases, for instance, The Chalkhill Blue had been allocated 7 slots when they only needed one.

There were a large number of well-considered written objections from several local Parish Councils, including Monxton, and a representative from Abbots Ann spoke strongly against the motion. Monxton Parish Council also spoke against the motion. However, a representative from Goodmans dismissed the Parish Councils and residents statements as “not understanding” the application.

The objections were well supported by a number of local councillors, and the great majority of those who spoke were strongly against removing the cap. These councillors pointed out that, in order to secure the original planning permission,Goodmans had freely entered into an agreement with TVBC and thus agreed to the original restrictions.

It is worth noting that Highways England and HCC based their lack of objection solely on figures relating to the strategic highways network, and the only reference to local impact was to say that local villages are protected by the ANPR system. Pete Parfrey was one of a number of those present who pointed out that any system which is out of operation for over a year and a half in order to carry out repairs, cannot be regarded as a reliable or effective safeguard. There is also a lack of transparency, in that the system appears to rely on those who stand to be penalised to implement it.

The application was duly defeated, at which point the planning officer stated that this was both a technical and legal issue, and that councillors had to provide robust evidence that the cap was “serving a useful purpose”. She also, rather worryingly, stated that Goodmans had received planning permission for a “warehouse development”.

This is very different to the original application, which was for for a “Mixed Business Park”, with some warehousing, as illustrated in the Goodmans promotional video shown to councillors by planning officers at that original hearing.

Understandably, the councillors pointed out that they were not legal experts, giving TVBC the opportunity, once more, to refer the matter to TVBC’s Planning Control committee.

This is a re-run of the process which allowed the original application, which was also rejected locally , to be passed at a later date by Planning Control.

There is a very strong feeling locally that relaxing this condition would mark the beginning of a ‘slippery slope’, and seriously undermine trust and confidence in the planning system. What is the point of fighting for and agreeing restrictions, only to see them subsequently removed? If we are to have any influence on the outcome of this, and further applications, (which may well already be in the pipeline), we will need a co-ordinated show of force and support from affected local villages.

The next meeting is at 5.30pm on 20 December in Conference Room 1, Council Offices, Beech Hurst, Weyhill Road, Andover. The meeting is open to the public.

The agenda for the meeting, which includes the officers’ report for this application, will be available from 1.00pm at Customer Services, Romsey 5 clear working days before the meeting, or Customer Services at the Beech Hurst offices in Andover.  Additionally a copy of the agenda is available for viewing on the Council’s website (www.testvalley.gov.uk/view-applications).  Any update report will be available from 5.00pm on the day of the meeting at the committee.

Please speak up and make your voice heard. Get in touch with Pete Parfrey to do so by email (prparfrey@gmail.com) or phone 01264 710516.

 

 

Monxton Parish Profile

by Monxton Matters

Interested to see information on Monxton and the surrounding villages?

For the past few months TVBC have been working to create a set of Ward and Parish profiles for Test Valley. Ward profiles have been developed for each of the 24 ward areas in Test Valley. Additionally, parish profiles have been developed for the borough’s parishes. The profiles aim to provide consistent information about local communities across the borough. It is hoped that these profiles will allow a greater understanding of your local area and help to identify priorities for the community.

‘Ward’ is a term used by the Council and other public sector bodies to define an area represented by one or more Borough Councillors. These Councillors have been elected by the people who live in that ward to represent their views. A parish is represented by a number of Parish Councillors, and is usually smaller than a ward.

The profiles for Monxton, Amport, Grateley and Quarley are now online, alongside the Amport Ward profile. The ward of Amport covers 3,382 hectares on the western edge of Test Valley. The ward is rural with housing focused in the six main settlements of Amport, East Cholderton, Grateley, Monxton, Quarley and part of Weyhill.

Click this link to see the Ward Profile and also each parish profile:
http://www.testvalley.gov.uk/resident/communityandleisure/workingwithcommunities/mylocalarea/amport/amport-ward-profile/

There is also a 2016 Test Valley profile for the borough as a whole:
http://www.testvalley.gov.uk/aboutyourcouncil/corporatedirection/about-test-valley-the-facts-and-figures/boroughprofile/

 

Dogs and Public Paths

by Monxton Matters

A gentle reminder for all dog owners and walkers

The countryside is a great place to exercise dogs, but it’s every owner’s duty to make sure their dog is not a danger or nuisance to farm animals, wildlife or other people.

  • Please pick up your dog’s mess when on footpaths, rights of way and public paths. There have been quite a few instances where dog mess has been left on footpaths and also in the barnyard at Manor Farm in Monxton.
  • Once you have picked up the dog mess please DO NOT leave the bag on or near the path. This is littering and worse than leaving the dog mess. There are bins to put the bags (by the bus stop on the High Street; by the lay-by between the main village and Sunnybank; on the footpath near the grain store leading to the gallops) or take it home for disposal.
  • Please keep to the footpaths and do not trespass on fields. This is especially important when crops are sown
  • Please keep dogs on leads or under close control near livestock and do not allow them to enter any field with livestock. By law a farmer is entitled to destroy a dog that injures or worries their livestock.
  • If a farm animal chases you and your dog, it is safer to let your dog off the lead – don’t risk getting hurt by trying to protect it.
  • By law you must control your dog so it doesn’t disturb or scare farm animals or wildlife. This is especially important between 1st March and 31st July when animals tend to have young to look after.
  • Take particular care that your dog doesn’t wander where it might scare or disturb birds that nest on the ground and other wildlife – eggs and young will soon die without protection from their parents.
  • Please click here to see the map of footpaths around the area

Black Swan car park and village green

by Monxton Matters

As you all know, our pub, the Black Swan, has closed. We don’t know what will happen next to the pub, although Monxton Parish Council (MPC) has written to the owners, Enterprise Inns, to ask for information. The Parish Council is yet to receive a reply.

When the pub was closed a few years ago, MPC registered the building as a Community Asset. The Parish Council has now also registered the car park and Village Green as Community Assets as well, and these have now been added to TVBC’s list. This will give a degree of protection in the future, should things change.

MPC is also registering the previously unregistered Village Green to give an even greater level of protection, and is doing everything possible to ensure we have our open spaces protected in perpetuity.

The Village Green is also owned by Enterprise Inns (previously owned by the brewery, Strongs of Romsey), although Monxton Parish Council pays for and arranges the upkeep for the enjoyment of everyone.

Sky Lanterns – Warning

by Monxton Matters

At approx 19.15 this evening (Easter Sunday 27 Mar) a sky lantern (with burner in full flame) appeared over the houses between Chalkpit Lane, High Street and Abbotts Ann Road. It was very low and a struggling to gain height; it dipped down out of sight almost immediately then, after a few moments reappeared struggling to gain height. Fortunately it then gained height, and did not crash again into one of the thatched properties along the High Street or the lower part of Chalkpit Lane, before sailing off North East. The lantern was white with a large red heart on one side.

Such lanterns pose a danger to thatched properties, as well as livestock. Please, please DO NOT light such things.

 

Monxton Pumping Station

by Monxton Matters
From Southern Water – to explain the activity at the Waste-water Pumping Station in Chalkpit Lane, Monxton.
Presently they are employing eight tankers to help control the flows of waste-water, exacerbated by a high volume of groundwater, into the station.
 
The station is designed to cope with such flows but an equipment failure has caused a chamber within the station to flood. SW hasten to add there has been no external spillage. The remedy is to over-pump from the wet well into the rising main but to expose the rising main we need the consent of the landowner Barrie Hayward to access his field and dig. Mr Hayward has quickly consented – not the first time he has helped the village – and we are grateful to him.
 
SW will keep us posted with the progress of the repair. Meanwhile, as they have in the past, SW shall repair any damage caused by the tankers and apologise for any inconvenience caused. Repairs unlikely to be effective before early next week.
If you wish to speak to SW re this event then please quote Ref 3650367.
Tel: 0330 303 1263

An easy & green way to raise funds for your Village Hall

by Monxton Matters

GE_SwtichForGoodLogoLockUP_DarkGrey_RGB-2-300x139We have teamed up with the lovely folk at Good Energy to help raise funds for the Monxton & Amport Village Hall makeover – AND to encourage you make the switch to cleaner, greener 100% renewable electricity.

 

WHY SHOULD I SWITCH?

For every household and customer that swaps, then Good Energy will pay £25 to Monxton & Amport Village Hall to help fund the make-over and renovations.  If you have a business that switches to Good Energy then they will pay the Village Hall up to £120 depending on the size of business.

Don’t forget that you are also then helping the environment by buying and using clean, renewable energy, which will help lower pollution, lower your carbon footprint, divest from fossil fuels and help to ensure there is no market for fracking (a very real threat in Monxton & Amport).

HOW DO I SWITCH?

Switching to Good Energy couldn’t be simpler. There’s no disruption to your electricity or gas supply and you don’t need a new meter or someone to rewire your home. All Good Energy needs are a few details and five minutes of your time. You can leave the rest to them.

SWITCH NOW!!

 

If you call Good Energy to switch (0800 254 0004) then please ensure you quote ‘Monxton Village Hall’ and Affiliate Code GE2331.

WHO CAN SWITCH?

Clearly we’d LOVE every household and business in Monxton & Amport to be using cleaner, greener electricity – and not just because it will help to fund the Village Hall. But this affiliate scheme certainly is not limited to just local residents. In fact anyone and everyone can switch to Good Energy and if they use the links or quote ‘Monxton Village Hall’ then we will earn more money! It’s that simple! So please encourage EVERYONE you know to switch!

If you’d like to lower your bills and be more environmentally-friendly then click here for more ways you can save energy and money in your home.

 

WHO ARE GOOD ENERGY?

Monxton & Amport Village Hall is proud to work with award-winning 100% renewable electricity Good Energy. By making the switch you can support a cleaner, greener future, help to tackle climate change and protect the beautiful environment that surrounds us.

Good Energy has been providing homes with 100% renewable electricity for over 15 years, matching their customers’ electricity use over the course of a year with power from British sunshine, wind and rain.

The renewable electricity it supplies comes from its own wind and solar farms around the UK and also from a growing community of more than 1,000 independent generators who are making electricity for themselves.

You can trust where your electricity comes from when you’re with Good Energy and you can also trust in its great customer service too.

Good Energy has been voted top of the Which? energy customer satisfaction survey for three out of the last four years, won Martin Lewis’ MoneySavingExpert polls for customer service and has consistently topped Ethical Consumer’s survey as the best green electricity supplier.

Switching is green and simple. Sign up quoting ‘Monxton Village Hall’ or Affiliate Code GE2331. Go online at  http://www.goodenergy.co.uk/affiliates/monxton-village-hall or call 0800 254 0004.

 

Good Energy reckons the electricity you use at home accounts for around 24% of your carbon footprint – and electricity consumption accounts for around 45% of the energy carbon footprint of the average home.

To calculate the contribution domestic electricity consumption makes to your annual carbon footprint, Good Energy first looked at the national breakdown of per capita emissions. They then tallied the total of Domestic and Transport emissions and calculated the reduction that would occur if ‘Domestic Electricity’ resulted in zero carbon emissions.