Category Archives: News

Nelson Lorry hits vehicle in High Street

by Monxton Matters

On Wednesday 12 March a vehicle, belonging to a resident on the High Street, was hit by a Nelson lorry, breaking off the back of the wing mirror.

The driver of the lorry was aware he had done this, as he watched the part hit the ground, but chose to drive off rather than stop. The resident fortunately saw all this happen & gave chase. The driver refused to stop, in spite of lights being flashed & horn sounded. It was only when the lorry was reversing in to an entrance & the resident blocked his way, that he was able to speak to the lorry driver. The driver was apparently ‘less than polite’ & tried to deny the incident, but then blamed the Monxton resident, even though he was in the house at the time and the van was parked correctly & legally on the road. Previously, three other HGVs had passed without a problem.

Accidents happen but to drive off is out of order. This lorry has been going back & forth continually for the past few days, full & empty making a mockery of the promised agreement to use a one-way system, using Monxton just for exiting the site with empty lorries.

Andover Farmers’ Market Sunday 16 March

by Monxton Matters

 The all new Andover Farmers’ and Crafts Market will be staging its premier in the High Street this Sunday 16 March.  Forty stalls will fill the street from top to bottom with a vast array of local produce and crafts.

Food goodies on offer to tempt the taste buds will range from Greenfield Pork to Loosehanger Cheeses and New Forest Smokery.  Those with a sweet tooth can browse the Burley Fudge or Travelling Cupcake stalls, or be tempted to purchase a tipple from Grape Expectations.

Andover Farmers Market

Image thanks to Test Valley Borough Council

Craft stalls range from local artists to photography; jewellery to wool and yarn, and hand painted pottery to craft kits.

Leader of the Council, Councillor Ian Carr said: “Last year the Council stepped in to ensure that a Farmers’ Market would continue in Andover after the Hampshire Farmers’ Market presence in the town ended.  This was in recognition of the important part a Farmers’ Market plays in the fabric of the Town.  The new Farmers’ and Crafts Market has been expanded to include a range of local crafts as well as produce and plants.  The High Street with also resound with music from Sing for Fun in the Time Ring, and the market will be bigger and better than ever before.  The market encourages residents to shop local, support their High Street and local producers.

“The full programme of Farmers’ and Crafts markets arranged this year marks the Council’s continued commitment to the town.  We are also exploring the possibility of setting up a volunteer bus scheme to help people without access to a public bus service travel into town and visit the Farmers’ and Crafts Markets and other key High Street events throughout the year.”

In order for the council to assess whether there is sufficient demand for a community service on a Sunday, we would like to hear from you.  If you are interested in making use of community transport on Sundays or can offer to drive a community vehicle, please contact the Planning Policy and Transport team on 01264 368000 by 31 March.

There is a packed diary of Farmers’ and Crafts Markets throughout the year, with a market now being held every month except for April and July.  Traders who are interested in taking part in future markets should contact Heather Whittam for more information – hwhittam@testvalley.gov.uk

Parish Council Meeting 19 March 2014

by Monxton Matters

MONXTON PARISH COUNCIL
NOTICE OF PARISH MEETING

THE MONXTON PARISH COUNCIL MEETING IS TO BE HELD ON WEDNESDAY 19th MARCH 2014 IN THE VILLAGE HALL AT 7.30PM

AGENDA
1. Welcome and Apologies.
2. Declaration of Interests.
3. Members of the Public (Pre-booked slots if requested)
4. Minutes of the Previous Meeting sign that they are correct
5. Planning
6. Reports:
Environment & Footpaths
Traffic
Neighbourhood Watch
Financial
Monxton Web Site
7. HCC and TVBC reports (if provided)
8. Correspondence
9. Dates of next meeting – AGM 21st May 2014
10. Close of the meeting

Found: Black Cocker Spaniel

by Monxton Matters

This black cocker spaniel was found today at The Alpine Group yard near Monxton. The dog has now been handed to the local council. If you know whose dog this may be, then please get in touch with Kelvin Barry on 01264 710613 and he will give you the details.

Two black working cocker spaniels were stolen last week in Romsey, so we have also sent this photo to the owners and Hampshire Police.

Hopefully there will be a happy reunion soon.Missing dog

Volunteers for Amport & Monxton Fete

by Monxton Matters

Calling all helpful people in Amport and Monxton!

An appealing for volunteers to help at the fete on Saturday 19th July 2014. There will be lots of fun to be had during the day (12.30 -16.30) and it would be great to have willing people to manage a stall for an hour or two….. or even better, all day…

If you have any ideas for stalls or specific ones that you would like to volunteer on then please just let me know.  I totally understand if you can’t commit now but would be grateful for any expressions of interest!  There will be a ‘knees up’ hog roast and music in the evening too, so pop the date in your diaries.  More info on the website (www.amportfete.com) and the new Amport village Facebook page will be kept up to date with any exciting developments (as well as other local news/community events)…..  please ‘like’ the page to be kept in the loop.

Volunteers are also needed for set up on the afternoon and evening before and for take down on the Sunday morning please.

There will be a fete planning meeting in The Hawk on Tuesday 25th March from 8pm.  It would be great if you could come along and pick and choose from the ‘help me’ list.  Any feedback on Fete 2013 also gratefully received.

Also. if anyone is able to donate an auction prize we would be VERY grateful.  We have had such amazing prizes over the last few years and have raised such a lot of money for our local school and church… it would be wonderful to carry on that tradition.

Thanks so much for reading.. and thank you in advance for volunteering, donating, and for coming on the day.

Kate Cavalier
The Old Farm, The Green, Amport
01264 773 876

New Artwork at Business Park

by Monxton Matters

Test Valley Borough Council has agreed the design for an innovative public work of art for Andover Business Park.

The work reflects the area’s history as the former home of RAF Andover. It will be paid for using contributions from Goodman, which is the company responsible for developing the business park.Andover-Business-Park-Public-Art

 

Standing at 13 metres at its highest point, the strong silhouettes in the sculpture celebrate some of the aircraft that once soared above Andover. The main framework for the piece forms an exact segment of a sphere or a globe, making reference to flight navigation.

The installation, designed by renowned artist Chris Brammall, will be sited at the entrance to the business park, opposite the Chalk Hill Blue pub. The piece will be beautifully engineered using galvanised steel and aluminium.

Chris proposes to work with the local community to develop an information panel for the piece, and consult on certain aspects of the design. He will also produce a dedicated blog, which will provide a constant flow of information and updates on the progress of the sculpture. The project will start at the end of March and be installed and unveiled in September 2014.

Councillor Tony Ward, Portfolio Holder for Community and Leisure, said: “We wanted to see a design that truly reflected the history of the area and the theme of flight and navigation. And Chris’s design does exactly that. I look forward to seeing the installation in all its glory later this year.”

A commissioning panel comprising Test Valley borough councillors, Goodman developers, council officers and external arts professionals conducted a vigorous shortlisting process to arrive at their final decision. More than 69 artists from around the world submitted initial designs for the installation before the panel whittled down the bids to six finalists.

Councillors approved the preferred design at a Cabinet meeting at the end of February and agreed for the artist to commence work.

Monxton Pumping Station Update

by Monxton Matters

Representatives from Southern Water and the Environment Agency came to the pumping station on Monday 3rd March and ‘Betsy’ has now started to over-pump.  This is gradually stopping our flooding and should keep us from flooding again in the short term.  We would like to thank Sir George Young MP, for his assistance, as this happened after his intervention. We plan to have a Monxton Flood Advisory Committee, to negotiate with the various agencies involved, to try to ensure that this does not happen again in the future.  

Neighbourhood Watch Alert: February 2014

by djamescdr

    Hampshire Constabulary Re-organisation

    By now I expect you will have seen the headlines about the effect of the next round of budget cuts.
    Bob Combes, Chairman of Hampshire & IoW Neighbourhood Watch Association, represented NW at a briefing on 12th February, where the Police and Crime Commissioner and the Chief Constable outlined the thinking behind the proposed changes. He has provided some notes on that meeting:

    • The first budget cut of £55m was made mainly from ‘back office’ areas and collaboration with other Police forces –and it left local policing virtually untouched.
    • This budget cut of £25m will involve a reduction in both staff and front line officers.
    • “There have to be changes in what the Police do – and how they do it”.

    The Police seem determined to turn this funding crisis into an opportunity – and we can already see some positive points:
    • There remains a strong emphasis on supporting community policing and greater collaboration with our local Safety Partnerships;
    • Each Police/council district will have their own senior police officer who will focus on neighbourhood issues and developing effective partnership working ( NW mentioned in particular);
    • Rural areas will have dedicated police teams;
    • Community Police teams will not be pulled away for other tasks;
    • There will be no reduction in PCSO numbers.
    The full information is available by clicking here

    Alert: Notice to appear in court email scam

    The Business Crime Reduction Centre is warning people about a new email scam that threatens victims with court action. Fraudsters have been sending out legitimate looking spoofed emails designed to trick recipients into installing malware. The email says you have been notified and scheduled to appear for a court hearing, and contains specific dates, times, locations and reference numbers.
    It asks you to download a copy of the ‘court notice’ attached. The downloaded zip file actually contains an .exe file (a file that executes when clicked) containing a virus.
    The email has no connection to the Criminal Justice System and anyone receiving the email should not download any attachments or click any links.

    There have been no known reported incidents in Hampshire that NW is aware of, however it is worth bearing in mind. While it seems to be more business orientated, residents are as likely to receive the email.
    Further details including where to report this and any other fraud can be found by clicking here.

Monxton Pumping Station Flooding Update

by Monxton Matters

Southern Water have been pumping out Monxton Pumping Station now for nearly two months (nearly 24/7), we have gone from one tanker to the present three, but unfortunately, to no avail.

Initially, the pump was found to be broken and was replaced with a new one.  The new pump has not failed and is working, but is completely overwhelmed. Southern Water confirmed that the pumping station cannot cope with the volume of groundwater now entering the sewage system, although sewage is still being pumped over towards Abbotts Ann.

The Environment Agency have now visited the site three times and on the second visit, over two weeks ago, an overland pump was requested, with the intention to use this to “over pump” from the station into the brook. For some weeks this has already been in place further up the line at a number of sites including Fyfield and Mullens Pond, to try to relieve the system.  We understand that the sewage in the system is now diluted enough by groundwater, to cause no harm the brook.  The Environment Agency said they needed to see the results of this and assured us that this would make a difference to our situation, but this has blatantly failed and, in fact, the flooding has increased.

On Friday 21st February, Southern Water delivered a pump named ‘Betsy’, which was installed and tested, with dramatic results – drains cleared and the pumping station stopped flooding! Betsy now awaits the delivery of some hoses to reach the brook.  These are in short supply at the moment but Southern Water told us that they were due to arrive on Monday 23rd February. They did not arrive and at a meeting yesterday, Southern Water confirmed that really they do not know when or if at all they can locate the hoses and additional kit needed to over-pump into the brook.

Although it was clear that the flooding of the pumping station had not improved since their last visit, the Environment Agency confirmed yesterday that they had still not yet given Southern Water the necessary permission to go ahead with the over pumping.  Without this permission Southern Water’s hands are tied, as they cannot over pump without the Environment Agency’s approval: this is not in place, nor do they know if it will be given.  The considerable impact ‘Betsy’ had on the pumping station flooding was made clear to both Southern Water and the Environment Agency yesterday, and we now await a decision from the Environment Agency.  In the meantime, Southern Water, have assured us they will endeavour to locate the necessary equipment as soon as possible.

There have been a small number of incidences of drivers being impatient with the tankers at the pumping station, so please be understanding at this difficult time.  We would advise that only those drivers who are residents of Chalkpit Lane use the lane until the flooding has ceased.

Long term solutions will be discussed with affected residents and the relevant agencies in the future.  An update will be posted as soon as we have a decision from the Environment Agency.