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.

Test Valley Borough Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee has voted to oppose addition of fluoride to the borough’s water supply.

Over the past month the committee has considered submissions from the strategic health authority, local dentists, supporters and opponents of the proposals. This included a special meeting devoted to receiving evidence from both sides of the argument

The committee’s recommendation is as follows

“Having weighed up the evidence presented, this Committee remains unconvinced of the health benefits of fluoridation of public drinking water and therefore recommends to full council that it does not endorse additional fluoridation of the borough’s water supply until such time as evidence of the positive health benefits is produced. The Committee is in favour of using the resources in a more targeted way to improve the dental health of those who would benefit most.”

The recommendation will be considered by the full council at its meeting on November 13th.

As a member of the committee I support of the recommendation. The committee has considered the proposals in detail and found the arguments on both sides to be inconclusive. Low levels of fluoride may have been shown to improve dental health, but there is no clear evidence that addition of fluoride to drinking water is effective or necessary. It is, therefore, inappropriate for us to support addition of fluoride to local water supplies. The resources should be diverted to more cost effective health care initiatives.

I received today the following letter from the office of Sharon Bowles MEP. Sharon has joined local Lib Dems and other campaigners in calling for Test Valley Borough Council to reconsider their short sighted decision to let the lower Guildhall to a pizza restaurant.

“It is often a problem to balance commercial interests, and associated jobs, with cultural and other community concerns. As a member of the European Parliament’s Economic Committee I often have to adopt a ‘hard headed’ approach. However, as a member of that committee wrestling with the current financial crisis, it does seem that local communities and community resources will be a high priority to see us through the threatened recession.”

“Andover’s Guildhall is an important community resource. For years charities, community groups and local traders have utilised the facilities of this impressive building.”

“It may be true that some jobs will be created if the Guildhall becomes a Pizza restaurant, but at what cost to local trade and support? At a time like this community resources are needed more than ever. The council should put effort into preserving existing jobs and small businesses and make use of the many empty shop units. This outweighs the creation of a few new jobs which may themselves become questionable as budgets tighten.”

“It also seems that by accepting the plan, the Council are breaking their own policy. Policy ESN 19 of the Test Valley Local Plan provides for the retention of local community facilities and the rejection of development proposals which result in their loss. Is this not the case here, even without the current economic argument?”

“I hope that Test Valley Council listen to their local community, think again and retain Andover Guildhall as a community resource.”

Sharon Bowles MEP          

Several more tree preservation orders have been served on trees and woodland in Enham Alamein. This is the next stage of a survey of all of the trees in the village which I requested in April of last year.

The first series of TPOs covered the memorial trees on Newbury Road. This latest series is in two parts. The first covers trees along Newbury Road in front of the factory, in and around Landale Close and around Dunhills Lane and Greenfields. The second order covers hedges and trees around the playing fields on Knightsbridge Road and along the cinder path.

This does not mean the trees cannot be cut or removed but does mean that any works cannot be carried out without first applying for planning permission

 If anyone would like further details please contact me.

The village of Enham Alamein will be commemorating Alamein Day on Sunday 19th of October. Full details are given on the attached poster. For further details please contact the Enham Trust or the parish council.

alamein-poster-08.pdf