Your help required to compile flood risk map of Hampshire

Hampshire County Council is in the process of compiling a detailed map of localised flood risk areas across the county and is asking residents to fill out a short questionnaire if they know of any in their district. See:- Hantsweb and Questionnaire

Damian Hinds asks Grant Shapps about eco-town referendums - Hansard

Damian Hinds MP for East Hampshire has asked the Housing Minister, Grant Shapps if he feels there should be  referendums before work starts on large scale housing developments such as the Bordon eco-town. Read more:- Hansard

Hindhead tunnel expected to open in early July - Petersfield Post

Work on A3 Hindhead tunnel is ahead of schedule and it should be ready for opening at the start of July according to a Highways Agency project manager interviewed by the Petersfield Post. This should hopefully bring some relief to traffic volumes on the A325 and the Blacknest Road from motorists avoiding the current roadworks delays. Read more:- Petersfield Post

New hygiene website rates food outlets - easthampshire.org

If you ever used the Safe2Eat website which rated hygiene standards of eating places across Hampshire, you will be interested in the online facility that replaces it from this month, developed by the Food Standards Agency in conjunction with local authorities. Read more:- easthampshire.org   If you search 'Alton' on the page given you get a list of all local food outlets and their current ratings - some might surprise you ! See :- Food Ratings

The South Downs National Park opens its doors today

The SDNP officially opens for business from today and hopefully brings with it the greater likelihood of preserving the countryside around us.Read more:- BBC News Have a browse around the new website:- SDNP

It's Speed Guns at dawn for all ? - BBC news

The governments 'communities champion ', Helen Newlove, is proposing giving local communities more responsibility for dealing with anti-social behaviour and crime including setting speed limits and helping to enforce them with speed guns. Read more :- BBC News     
     And Hampshire County Council along with town and parish councils across the county have signed up to 'The Local Councils Partnership Framework'  which is designed to ensure that local residents have an even greater say in the decisions that affect them. Read more:- Hants Media     

Millions of householders to get new tenants this month - RSPB

It's now that the time of year when birds such as sparrows and starlings are tempted  to move into any available nooks and crannies in our houses and outbuildings . The RSPB ( Royal Society for the Protection of Birds )  say they are getting an increasing number of calls from householders who can hear noises in their attics or lofts and are concerned that the birds are trapped. Reassurance is given that usually they are not and the noises are simply those of normal nesting activity.  Read more :-  RSPB news

Budget 2011: Green shoots buried under concrete - CPRE

The CPRE ( Council for the Protection of Rural England ) has claimed that the easing of planning rules for developers proposed in yesterday's Budget speech could be a disaster for our countryside. Read more:- CPRE
Also, an article in the Gardian warns that 'the move could clash with the promise of greater involvement from local people'  See :- Guardian

A vision for the future of Alice Holt Forest - Forestry Commission

The Forestry Commission have just published a 'Statement of Direction' for Alice Holt Forest called 'On Your Doorstep'.   It is a statement of intention for the forest to be part of the heart of the community by encouraging 'people to be involved in their local woodlands and the wider countryside'  See the last heading on the following page which is entitled ' Hopes for the Future of Alice Holt'  Forestry Commission

The TaxPayers Alliance publishes the top pay of UK local councils

A full list of all local council employees earning over £100,000 in 2009/10 has been published today by the TaxPayers Alliance. It includes a full breakdown for every local council. Read more :- TaxPayers Alliance

Rail link warrants further investigation - Hantsweb

A heavy rail link from Whitehill Bordon to Bentley has been chosen for further investigation as the favoured route for the proposed eco-town. Estimated current cost would be £170 million. Read more:- Hantsweb The full text of the feasibility study is available here :- WBecotown  ( it is advisable to opt to download it in order to be able to read it more easily )

Find out latest on eco-town at board meeting - Bordon Post

The second meeting of the Whitehill Bordon Delivery Board will be held next Tuesday, March 15th at 2.30 pm in the Pheonix Theatre. Questions will only be answered if they are received in writing 48 hours before the meeting. See further details here:-  Bordon Post  There is also an article in this weeks Bordon Herald on a clash of words between  councillor Andrew Joy and campaigner Steven Miles at the first Standing Conference held ten days ago. :- Bordon Herald

EHDC keeps council tax frozen - easthampshire.org

East Hants District Council have announced it is to keep Council Tax frozen despite the tough financial climate. Savings have been made through efficiency measures and various partnership agreements. Read more:- easthampshire.org    Meanwhile, Hampshire County Council plan to tackle some of their financial shortfall by hiring out some publicly owned venues such as the Barn at Basing House to local businesses. Read more :- Hants Media  

County Council sets its budget for 2011/12

Hampshire County Council are having to cut back by to meet a £55m budget gap in the coming financial year whilst protecting services to those who need it most. Read more :- Hants Media  Greater detail on the specific cuts are here :- Savings explained

Campaigners not out out of the woods in bid to save forests - The Guardian

Image via WikipediaProposed coalition cuts in planning guidance for developers and councils threaten ancient woodland across the country with projects such as golf courses and even airports. Read more :- Guardian  The Woodland Trust continues to campaign for better protection of our ancient woodlands. See :- Woodland Trust

Golf Course applies for partial change of use to guest accommodation

Blacknest Golf Course has applied to EHDC Planning for change of use in the main building to create a new ten room guest facility on the first floor. More detail at :- EHDC Planning  ( select Binsted in the Parish option )

Victory! Government to scrap plans to sell our forests - 38 Degrees

Various news sources including the BBC, The Guardian and The Independent are reporting that the government are about to scrap plans to sell our forests. More from :- 38 Degrees

Inspirational Activity sheets for half-term from the Woodland Trust

Take a look at these excellent Activity Sheets about bird-spotting from the Woodland Trust Nature Detectives series. Just the thing for the half-term holiday :-  Nature Detectives

Fireworks as eco-specialist groups meet - Bordon Post

'Blistering attack' by a local councillor on the proposed eco-town transport policy at recent update meeting . Read more :- Bordon Post

Seven Principles for a Successful Neighbourhood Plan - The Colin Buchanan Blog

A Blogger presents a briefing note for local authority planners ( also useful for councillors ).  Principle No.3 is of note for outlying districts :-  The Colin Buchanan Blog

Forest sell-off faces the chop - Guardian

The Governments plans to sell off England's woodlands and forests have provoked a huge public reaction. The 38 Degrees Petition now numbers well over 500,000 signatures and many local groups have sprung up across the country. Read more:-  The Guardian    For your local group see :-  Alice Holt

Financial relief for council

East Hampshire District Council's budget deficit will be significantly reduced due to a Government decision to limit it's contribution to the South Down's National Park to £622,000 rather than £1.1m.  Read more:- Bordon Post 

'Don't let the town wither and die' - Bordon Post

An East Hampshire district councillor has warned that Bordon is in danger of becoming a dormitory town and will eventually wither and die if nothing is done to attract new commercial opportunities to the area. The newly published draft Economic Development and Employment Strategy document ( in the previous Post ) has been produced with this in mind. Read more :- Bordon Post   

A draft Economic Development and Employment Strategy has been published for Whitehill/Bordon eco-town

A detailed economic strategy draft document has been published for the proposed eco-town. Consultations are invited.    Read more:-  Whitehill/Bordon eco-town

Community would have to raise over £2m to prevent it from being leased.

The Alice Holt Community Forum estimates that £2m would be need to be raised by public subscription to take up the option for the local community to buy the 2000acres of Alice Holt rather than allow it to be 'prvatised' on a 150 year lease. Read more:-   Alice Holt.org

Firth 4 Firgrove in Waverley 2011: Right to roam is not good enough - without robust ...

Firth 4 Firgrove in Waverley 2011: Right to roam is not good enough - without robust ...: "Alice Holt Forest just outside Farnham- could be under threat I confess initially I wasn't too bothered when I first heard of plans to sel..."   Click on the above link to read the full articleImage via Wikipedia

Crow cull plan to save song birds sparks controversy - BBC Hampshire

The Game and Wildlife Conservancy Trust based in Fordingbridge, is planning a limited trial of legally trapping and culling predator birds such as crows and magpies to test if they contributing to the decline in songbird populations. A local farmer at Selbourne also feels that there is a need for the trial because despite maintaining ideal habitat for songbirds he is fighting a losing battle as crows and magpies rob their nests of eggs and young chicks. The RSPB disagrees - what do you think ?  Read more :-  BBC Hampshire

New community rights to challenge and run local services - consultation

 A new consultation excercise has been opened by the Decentralisation minister Greg Clark on how revolutionary new rights for local communities should work in practice.  The Community Right to Challenge and the Community Right to Buy are two major elements of the new Localism Bill designed to hand back power to the people. Read more :- Communities and Local Government

Save our forests - How did your MP vote ?

They were asked as to whether there should be a rethink. You can find out here :- 38 Degrees

Alice Holt Forest fears grow - Alton Herald

The classification of Alice Holt forest as a 'mixed' forest and not a 'heritage' forest increases the chances of it being privatised.  Alton Herald  The DEFRA consultation document sets out the classifications:- DEFRA