Len Gates

Andover Lib Dem councillors are calling for a purpose built lorry park for Andover. I and St Mary’s councillor Mike McGarry have tabled the following motion to next month’s borough council meeting

“Council notes the increase in the overnight parking of heavy commercial vehicles in Andover’s town car parks and on residential roads in and around Andover.
Council believes the parking of commercial vehicles in public car parks and on residential streets is unsatisfactory for the drivers of these vehicles and unacceptable to local residents.
Council therefore resolves to investigate the establishment of a purpose built lorry park in the Andover area.”

Andover is an important centre for the distribution industry and needs adequate facilities for lorry parking. It is unacceptable that lorries are parked in residential areas and public car parks because there is nowhere else for them to go.

Mike McGarry added “This is an issue I have raised on a number of occasions at planning meetings. There are plenty of possible sites that could be used. The council must take action to deal with this problem and find a suitable site.”

Tell us what you think - does Andover need a lorry park?

Local residents will be aware of the public concern over two adjacent showman’s sites at Picket Piece. Work has already started on the first site which has planning permission. An application for the second site was turned down by the Northern Area Planning Committee last month. The applicants for the second site were John Wall and Son who run the regular fairs at Smannell Road Open Space.

 Today I received an email from Mrs Bernice Wall, one of the applicants, details are as follows

“We have decided not to pursue the planning applcation for the Showmen’s Quarters we applied for , I believe that,in looking at the overall response, it would not be welcomed by the local community and therefore it would be unfair to carry on with an appeal on the decision.  We have declined the advice given to us on moral grounds , and hope by letting you know this side of Christmas it will lay the local residents concerns to rest. We truly had no idea that the feeling against  the application from the local residents was so strong. Our apologies if we caused anyone undue concern.  May we take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy Christmas and a Healthy 2009.”

While it is important that we find sites for show people it is equally important that these sites are acceptable to local residents. I applaud Mrs Wall’s public spirited decision not to pursue her application and thank her for the consideration she has shown to the local community.

Test Valley’s Tory administration has been slammed by a leading Liberal Democrat councillor for overcharging the bereaved and youth groups with its proposed increase in charges for services.

In  a statement issued before the borough’s Overview and Scrutiny committee meeting Cllr Cooper said “A Cabinet decision to increase most of Test Valley Borough Council fees and charges by an inflation busting 5% - and other fees and charges by as much as 100% - was rubber stamped last Wednesday. The main increases impact especially on youth groups and the bereaved. The Cabinet members present were Cllrs Hatley, Busk, Giddings, Hawke and Nokes. Cllrs Carr and Boulton were absent.”

“Some of the key changes are outlined  in an email I have sent to Overview and Scrutiny Chairman, Cllr Drew, in an attempt to call-in the decision for further consideration. At present, call-in at Test Valley is quite difficult. Call-in either has to be agreed by the Chairman and vice-Chairman of Overview and Scrutiny who are members of the administration OR has to match a whole set of criteria.”

“The decision of the Cabinet is a resolution not a recommendation. So FIVE Councillors from the 48 total that makes up Test Valley Borough Council have made a decision that may markedly impact on the pockets of a large number of people at a time when it is quite clear there will be economic stress and anxiety through 2009-2010.”

The fee increase recommended by officers was 5% based on inflation on September 2008 but inflation is now estimated at 3% and forecast to drop to as low as 1.8%. Under these circumstances the proposed increase in  charges are unacceptable. Within the proposals are a number of increases well in excess of inflation such as 15% increases for cemetery and burial charges, and up to 80% for some youth sports facilities.

The committee agreed not to call in the decision but to refer it to the committee’s finance panel which I chair. We will meet before 14th January and review all of these charges to ensure local residents get value for money and that they are not overcharged for services.

The long awaited Enham Alamein village design statement was approved at yesterday’s Test Valley Borough Council cabinet meeting.

It doesn’t seem like four years since we first asked for approval for residents to carry out work to establish a village design statement. At the time there were no parish council or residents association but local residents spoke to me and my fellow councillor Josie Msonthi saying they were keen to carry out the work and to have the same influence over their environment as residents of other parishes. We got approval to start and organised meetings in the village and set the ball rolling.

The amount of public interest was incredible. I attended the early meetings to establish the groups working on the VDS (as I did with a similar one in Smannell). The excitement was infectious. For the first time residents of the village were being given the opportunity to have a say in what was happening around them and they responded positively and emphatically that they wanted to have that say. The residents took up the ball and ran with it. From that grew the residents association and eventually the parish council.

The results of that four years work on the VDS have now been approved. They show what can be achieved when local residents are given control over their affairs and the success of what they have achieved should be an object lesson for other communities. It should also be a lesson for us as borough councillors for our role should not be to administer the borough for, or despite of, the residents but to enable them to do it for themselves as we have done in Enham.

This is a well researched and universally approved document. I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate all those who worked on it, in the village, from the parish council, from the planning department and from planning aid south who gave so much help in the beginning. They have done a brilliant job and I am pleased the cabinet endorsed the work and accepted the finished document in full.

The recommendations for adoption of the document as planning guidance go to full council in January.

Andover’s new Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) located in Scott Close, on the Walworth Industrial Estate, will open to the public at 8:00am on Wednesday 3 December 2008. The existing Household Waste Recycling Centre at Shepherds Spring Lane will close permanently at 4:00pm on Tuesday 2 December 2008. Diversion signs will be in use to redirect users from the old HWRC to the new site once it is up and running. The new centre’s opening hours will remain the same as those of the existing facility.

County Councillor Robin Hughes said, “After several years of waiting, a bigger and better Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) for Andover will open in early December. I congratulate the contractors and the county officers for completing this new facility ahead of schedule. Local residents will no longer have to put up with cars parked nose to tail back from the site and on to New Street and beyond.”

 The new  £1.2million Household Waste Recycling Centre incorporates a split-level layout, providing an upper area dedicated entirely to customers. Twelve containers for recycling and disposal, plus increased space for other recycling amenities such as a sales area and bottle bank. There is a separate access for lorries to the lower area to carry out bin servicing. This removes the need to temporarily close the site to the public during bin changeovers, so queuing times will be significantly reduced.   Extra parking spaces have been provided to improve customer access and has been designed to prevent cars queuing on the road outside the entrance in busier periods.

Andover’s Lib Dem councillors are continuing to question the running costs of the Guildhall and Rendezvous.

The borough’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee were told on 6 November that the net cost of running the Guildhall was £74,000 and that income had dropped from over £44,000 in 2006/2007 to just £25,000 in 2007/2008. Future revenues from letting the Upper Guildhall are expected to be only £16,000 but officers admitted this was difficult to predict. Income from the Rendezvous so far is a mere £4,500.

St. Mary’s councillor Mike McGarry raised this at the full council meeting quizzing cabinet members about the figures. He was told running costs were over £100,000 for the past year and that income to-date was just £12,600. No figures are available for the costs of splitting services in the building to isolate the soon to be let lower Guildhall. A small profit of about £5,000 could be expected once the lower Guildhall is let. It was denied that a further loss of income to the council is expected when market traders are moved from the cobbles in front of the Guildhall

I find it hard to believe the council cannot give us more accurate figures. When the letting of the lower Guildhall was first proposed we were told running costs were around £75,000 per year and that most of that was administration charges connected with letting the building. We were also told there would be a profit to subsidise the Rendezvous. Now we appear to be spending even more money on a building that has effectively been closed for a year and financing an under-used and unsuitable alternative facility in the Rendezvous. I will be seeking a full review of the costs of both buildings at the end of the financial year.

On Saturday I was contacted by a resident of The Oval, Cricketers Way who was very concerned about the heavy deposit of fallen leaves outside the flats. On investigating I found that there were leaves 1 - 2 inches deep. These were not only unsightly but also dangerous because they were wet and slippery. Several residents and visitors to the block commented on the need to clear the leaves as soon as possible.

 I contacted Test Valley’s Environmental Services and they arranged to inspect the problem and resolve it. The leaves were cleared and the whole area swept on Monday morning. My congratultions to all the staff in Environmental Services who responded promptly and effectively to sort this problem.

Tory cabinet member for housing, Sandra Hawke sees no need to consult local councillors or residents about the new housing developments in Andover.

At Thursday’s council meeting I asked whether local councillors would have an input into implementing the new developments. “This been discussed on a number of occasions with particular reference to integrating the new communities with existing communities and also ensuring the impact of the MDAs on existing communities is minimised”  I said. To this end it was agreed that local members would be consulted and involved in this management of the implementation of the MDAs. Work has started in but to date there has been no consultation with councillors in the wards affected (Alamein and St Mary’s). Why not? and when can I expect this consultation to start?” 

Mrs Hawke replied she saw no need to consult and asked what there was to consult about. I repeated the question emphasising the need to ensure the impact on existing communities is minimised. Mrs Hawke again refused to answer the question.

Work has started at East Anton and local residents are already seeing the disruption caused. In the current economic climate it may be many years before the MDAs are completed. I and my fellow Lib Dem councillors will continue to work to ensure that any works are carried out in such a way as to minimise the effect on local communities.

Regular readers will note that I and County Councillor Robin Hughes have been chasing Hampshire Highways to repair potholes throughout Alamein ward. We can report that the stretch of Cricketers Way leading to Tesco and the health centre has finally been repaired. New road signs have also been installed on Cricketers Way, Smannell Road and Swallowfields.

 We will continue to chase for repairs to be carried out and to get a fair deal for Andover. Local council tax payers pay for this work and too often have to wait far too long for it to be done. If you know of any other areas needing repairs let us know.

Andover’s town centre could look very different in ten years’ time, with a new public square, wide pedestrian avenues and views of landmark buildings around the town.

A recent council report has identified the area around George Yard, Union Street and Black Swan Yard which would meet the requirements for development which is close to the town centre and which also has space for adequate car parking. The council has appointed consultants to advise on the feasibility of the scheme. 

Residents can see an exhibition of the ideas on display in the Upper Guildhall on Saturday 22, Monday 24 and Tuesday 25 November. The exhibition will take place alongside the Borough’s presentation of the revised Core Strategy which described the latest proposals for development across Test Valley over the next 20 years.

This is a very exciting and long overdue proposal. The public have been telling us for some time that Andover town centre needs upgrading and that we must bring more shops into the town preferably a major retailer and a department store. Councillors have looked at the options and we believe this development will meet the town’s needs. We have not yet, however, made any decision and I urge all residents to look at the plans and tell us what you think. This is your town and it must be developed the way you want.