Newtown Parish Assembly
Tuesday 27th April – 7.30 pm
Meet your parish, borough and county councillors
Raise any concerns on local matters
This meeting will be held on Zoom
Please email clerk@newtown-pc.org.uk
for the meeting link
Newtown Parish Council:
Parish Clerk: Rebecca Cloke
Email: clerk@newtown-pc.org.uk
Chairman: Tony Webb
Councillors: Sean Curry, Tom Reseigh, Jo Exelby, Jilly Homersham
Since March 2020 our lives have been greatly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The speed with which vaccines have been developed has been astonishing and has provided us all with the hope that some kind of normality will return later in 2021. No doubt you all have stories to tell of frustrations and of kindnesses from neighbours. In some ways the crisis has pulled our community together and your parish council (PC) hopes that we can remain more unified in the future.
Sandleford: The latest planning application for the Sandleford development has now been “called in” by the Secretary of State. This means that he will take the final decision on this appeal because it is a sizeable development that has a significant impact on the housing targets the Government has set. This does not change the appeal process as far as the Say No to Sandleford (SNTS) campaign involvement is concerned – the only difference is that instead of the Planning Inspector taking the decision, they instead write a report and make a recommendation for the Secretary of State whose office gets to make the final decision. The planning inspector’s recommendation does not have to be followed but there has to be good reason to override it, otherwise the decision could be subject to legal challenge and the High Court has not been shy of overturning the Secretary of State’s decisions. The timetable for the appeal will be:
March 5th – conference call to set the parameters around which the appeal will be held
March 22nd – statement of case has to be submitted
May 5th – hearing starts, 12 days have been set aside
Nothing is then heard until the Secretary of State takes his decision, at which point the planning inspector’s report and recommendation is also released. This is likely to be sometime in September.
Recycling: The temporary pass system is due to expire in July. The current extension was 50% funded by Basingstoke and Deane, although responsibility for recycling rests with Hampshire County Council. B&D has offered the same funding if the scheme is again extended. HCC intends to identify and build a new recycling site in northwest Hampshire, but no decision has yet been made. Your PC continues to press HCC for a decision before July.
Common Management: Management of the Common has continued with more scrub clearance and mowing, mainly on the Western side of the Common near the B4640. The Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) Scheme comes to an end this year. The Common Management Committee (CMC) is considering the best way forward to satisfy the wishes of both residents and Common users.
Drainage issues: The drainage problems on the C45 have finally been resolved and Hampshire Highways have completed work to divert the spring in the road above the church. Thanks are due to Clare and Tom Reseigh for their determination in chasing HH until a solution was achieved.
Communication: Notice boards have now been cleaned and are much more readable. We also have our own website (www.newtown-pc.org.uk). We also have a new Facebook page which can be accessed from the website.
This newsletter, like its predecessors, has always been printed off and distributed by hand. In future your PC intends to distribute newsletters and any other community news by email. Whilst many residents’ emails have been gathered over the years, there are still many that we do not hold. Of course, we have to comply with the latest General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and emails will be kept securely and controlled and audited by a nominated councillor. It would be most helpful if all recipients of this newsletter could send their email addresses to avconweb@gmail.com. Equally it would be helpful to know those of you who do not use the internet or who do not wish to share their addresses as we will then know which houses will continue to need a postal delivery of the newsletter. Please telephone such information to 01635 34305. Very many thanks for your valued help.
Newtown Village Hall: The hall remains significantly under-used. We believe this is, in part, due to the poor car parking arrangements. As a consequence the PC has raised sufficient money to build new car parking areas. These will be installed either side of the access track which will, itself, be renovated. Once the existing restrictions are lifted, we are hopeful that the facility will again become a useful focus for parish life.
Planning: As many of you will already know, there have now been three applications to build new houses within the estates of existing houses. The first two of these applications were refused, but went to appeal where they were successful. The third application was approved. Since all three applications contravene existing B&D regulations, we must assume that these rules are now under review.
The Parish Assembly: You will remember that because of Covid last year’s assembly was cancelled. This year we are still faced with restrictions but we have been urged to hold an online gathering. Accordingly, we will be holding a Zoom meeting on 27th April. This will, of course, exclude anybody who does not have access to the internet.
Agenda for Parish Assembly
Welcome by the Chairman
Apologies for absence
Approval of minutes of the 2019 Parish Assembly
Matters arising from the 2019 Parish Assembly
Report on 2020-21 by the Chairman
Report from Borough Councillor, John Izett
Report from County Councillor, Tom Thacker
Open Forum
Close