December 2010

Amended - Meeting dates changed

Guildhall Winchester - refurbishment nearing completion

The £3.2 million renovation and restoration scheme for Guildhall Winchester is coming to a close and is set to be completed by the end of the year. The project uses £1.4m of funding from the legacy of the late Bapsy, Marchioness of Winchester, who bequeathed money to the Council for the specific purpose of developing the Guildhall. Indian born Bapsybanoo Parvey, who died in 1995, also left a magnificent full length portrait of herself to display in The Guildhall. Her generous bequest will result in a superb new facility within the Guildhall in which her portrait will take pride of place. The refurbishment project will not only help the Guildhall to continue to attract visitors from far and wide but will also enable the venue to be used increasingly by the community and make it a real hub for local residents activity. The brand new eatery 'eighteen71' (the name is inspired by the date the foundation stone was laid) has now opened on the Broadway and is already becoming a popular space for people to meet, have informal business lunches or stay late and have a glass of wine while overlooking the beautiful Abbey House and Gardens. As well as the extensive refurbishment of the main hall, conference chamber, and new multi purpose ground floor space, the project will also include improved access, lifts to all floors, new carpets, doors and lighting, refurbished staircases, and new display areas for items from the city's art and museums collections. The work will also improve the energy efficiency of the building through the installation of modern energy saving features and improved insulation throughout the building and as part of the refurbished roof. A brand new website is being developed and will go live early in the New Year.

Village Design Statement Updating

Winchester City Council has now adopted over 20 Village or Neighbourhood Design Statements as 'Supplementary Planning Guidance/Documents'.  Many of these are now several years old and may be in need of revision or updating.  In particular, any which were adopted before 2006 will have as their 'parent' planning policy the original District Local Plan Review (1998), which has now been superseded by the 2006 District Local Plan Review. If Design Statements are out of date this will affect the weight that can be given to them in planning decisions.   A list of adopted Design Statements can be found on the Council's web site along with guidance on producing them. If your Design Statement is pre-2006 please consider whether it needs to be updated and discuss this with the Strategic Planning Team (contact Steve Opacic sopacic@winchester.gov.uk). If you think the list of Design Statements on the web needs updating please let the Strategic Planning Team know.

Blueprint Update

Thank you to all those parishes that have made contributions to our Blueprint consultation. Over 600 blueprint packs were issued to parishes councils, community groups and organisations, with over 25 local events being organised. Winchester City Council is very pleased with the number and variety of local groups that have used the Blueprint toolkit to debate how their communities need to address change over the next 20 years. The consultation closed on 10 December and we have received in excess of 100 responses. All responses will be available to view on the LDF pages of the Council’s website by early 2011 - www.winchester.gov.uk/LDF  During, February and March 2011 the responses will be reported to the Councils LDF Cabinet Committee, prior to publishing a revised Local Development Framework Core Strategy later in 2011.

How to get things done - your jargon-free guide to commissioning

At a recent meeting with the Leader of the Council parish representatives asked for a jargon-free explanation of what WCC means by ‘commissioning’. When we use the term ‘commissioning’ we simply mean, 'the way we get things done'. As you will know, the Council has an overall strategy for the district - the Community Strategy - and this guides the kinds of services and initiatives we provide on behalf of local taxpayers. We consult widely on this strategy and take into account other plans including parish and neighbourhood plans prepared by local people. Commissioning is the way we make sure that all the Council’s resources (eg officer time, skills, facilities and money) are in line with the Community Strategy’s aims. We also use our influence with others, such as the Police and NHS, to try to align what they are doing with the aims of the Community Strategy. We sometimes pool funds with them so we can purchase services together where it makes sense to do so. Not all services are best provided by Council staff. We already consider a range of options when deciding who is best placed to provide services. In the future we will apply this approach to even more of our services and projects. We will communicate better with businesses, voluntary organisations, parish councils, and public sector teams so they are aware of exactly what we want to achieve (this will include new interactive pages on our website). We will invite them to talk to us about their ideas and how they could help. We think this has the potential to create new ways of doing things more efficiently. We will use these ideas to create service specifications for a range of organisations to bid for. This is the essence of commissioning. We will look to create a ‘level playing field’ for voluntary organisations and local businesses so that, over time, they are able to bid for more services currently provided in the public sector – with funding from the City Council. This approach fits with the Government’s vision for a ‘big society’. Like WCC, parish councils can be seen as both commissioners in their own right, and providers of a range of services to local communities. We hope parish councils will wish to discuss with us how they can take a full part in providing services and leading initiatives in your areas, and about commissioning as we move forward together. For further information contact: Jen Anderson  (Active Communities) tel: 01962 848592  email janderson@winchester.gov.uk Eloise Appleby (Prosperous Economy) tel: 01962 848181 email eappleby@winchester.gov.uk Rob Heathcock (High Quality Environment) tel: 01962 848476 email rheathcock@winchester.gov.uk

Are you ready for Winter?

Following on from the problems caused by last winter’s snowfall, the Winchester District Older Persons Partnership has put together some information to remind people of the many services that are available to help older people stay warm this winter. Fire service Home Fire Safety Visits - This includes installing up to two smoke detectors per property, offering fire safety advice specific to the house and the occupants lifestyle, and carrying out an informal risk assessment of the home to point out any fire hazards and offering solutions to reduce the identified risks. Electric Blanket testing which is run in partnership with Trading Standards. Thatch Information Packs - along with supporting material, has been developed to help owners of thatch properties minimise the risk of fire. Each of these are run by our community safety team - 023 8062 6809, or email community.firesafety@hantsfire.gov.uk  details can be found at www.hantsfire.gov.uk/yoursafety/athome.htm Why not purchase bags of salt to put on your path leading to your door or by your driveway to help you get in and out of your property safely? Age Concern Winchester Services for older people include: Help in the Home -Help in the Home Scheme providing light domestic cleaning and shopping enabling frail older people to remain in their own homes. Contact Help in the Home ( Mike Davies)  01256 848 025 email HelpinTheHome@myfreemail.co.uk Take a Break - This completely free service is aimed at everyone who is a full-time carer for someone over 60 years. If you need to take time off from caring, to do something special – then we can help. Lunch Clubs – occurs on 3 sites 4 times a week, includes a 2 course hot meal with coffee. Transport can be arranged. Please contact Cynthia Boswell on 01962 8406 67 to find out more about venues. Winter Warmth Fund – this is an irregular amount to help people to purchase an electric heater or warm coat etc. Contact 01962 8406 67 or email ac.winchester@btclick.com Age Concern Hampshire can offer information and advice on a wide range of issues from Warm Front grants to energy efficiency and payments for boiler repairs.  Contact the freephone telephone line 0800 328 7154 Another great source of information is the Environment Centre (tEC) telephone 0800 804 8601. They are a registered charity and can advise you about possible grants available to you and help you make your home warmer and more comfortable. Winchester Live at Home Scheme Has volunteer shoppers/befrienders who may well be able to help with emergency shopping in the event of bad weather. Contact Winchester Live at Home Scheme, United Church, Winchester, SO23 8RZ. Telephone No. 01962 890995 www.wlahs.org  E-mail office@wlahs.org All Volunteers are CRB checked etc. Citizens Advice Bureau Winter Fuel Payments Helpline Tel:  0845 915 1515 (Mon-Fri 8.30am-4.30pm) Textphone:0845 601 5613        Website: www.direct.gov.uk How you receive your Winter Fuel Payment You should automatically get the Winter Fuel Payment without applying if you have reached the qualifying age by 26 September 2010, and either: you got State Pension or another benefit except Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit or Child Benefit during the week of 20–26 September 2010. you got a Winter Fuel Payment last winter and you still meet the conditions for getting it You will receive your Winter Fuel Payment the same way that you usually receive your State Pension or other benefit (apart from Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit or Child Benefit). If you're not getting a State Pension or another benefit (apart from Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit or Child Benefit) your Winter Fuel Payment will be paid by the method of payment you indicate on your claim form. What are Cold Weather Payments? You can now use the www.direct.gov.uk website and use a postcode search to find out if your area has received payment triggered by cold weather. Cold Weather Payments can help people who are in receipt of certain benefits with their additional heating costs during winter. A payment will be made for each seven day period of very cold weather between 1 November and 31 March. A network of weather stations covering the whole of Great Britain will gather temperature information. Payments will be made when the local temperature is recorded as, or forecast to be, zero degrees Celsius or below over seven consecutive days. Who can get Cold Weather Payments? If you are in receipt of Pension Credit, Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance or Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), you may also be able to get Cold Weather Payments. Tel:  0845 915 1515 (Mon-Fri 8.30am-4.30pm) Textphone:0845 601 5613        Website: www.direct.gov.uk Meon Valley The Meon Valley Active Retirement Association can offer help locally. Please telephone 01489 895 742 The Care Group can help with transport to hospital etc. Please telephone 01489 892 543 A Few Hints & Tips on Staying Warm Keep internal doors closed to stop draughts Have at least one hot meal and hot drinks throughout the day Layer up - many layers of clothing are best Close curtains at dusk Ensure your heating is 21°C in your home Keep your heating on low overnight Ensure your home is well insulated and your boiler is serviced Contact your energy supplier about Social Tariffs or Priority Register Schemes if you are on a low income or in receipt of benefits

Christmas opening hours

Customer Service Centre: Christmas Eve (Friday)  24 December  8.30am - 12pm  Christmas Day (Saturday) 25 December  Closed  Boxing Day (Sunday)  26 December  Closed Bank Holiday (Monday) 27 December  Closed Bank Holiday (Tuesday)  28 December  Closed  Wednesday 29 December 8.30am - 5pm  Thursday  30 December  8.30am - 5pm  New Years Eve (Friday) 31 December  8.30am - 4.30pm  New Years Day (Saturday) 1 January  Closed  Sunday 2 January  Closed Bank Holiday Monday 3 January  Closed Tuesday 4 January  8.30am - 5pm  See our Christmas opening hours webpage for information on Parking Office and Tourist Information Centre opening times.

Upcoming Meetings

Planning Development Control Committee - Walton Room, Guildhall, Winchester 06 January 09:30 Council - King Alfred Conference Chamber, Guildhall, Winchester 12 January 19:00 Cabinet (Traffic and Parking) Committee - Walton Room, Guildhall, Winchester 18 January 10:00 Cabinet - Conference Chamber, Guildhall, Winchester 19 January 09:30 Principal Scrutiny Committee - Walton Room, Guildhall, Winchester 24 January 18:30 Licensing and Regulation Committee - Walton Room, Guildhall, Winchester 25 January 18:30 Winchester Town Forum - Walton Room, Guildhall, Winchester 26 January 18:30 Planning Development Control Committee - Walton Room, Guildhall, Winchester 27 January 09:30 Standards Committee - Walton Room, Guildhall, Winchester 31 January 18:15

Recent Press Releases
Suzie Brown showcases at the view Youth of Winchester have their say on bus provision Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 School takes to the tube to monitor transport emissions Notice of By-Election for Olivers Battery and Badger Farm Ward Winchester Community Safety Partnership tackles Christmas Purse Theft

Keep in Touch
The are a variety of ways for you to keep in touch with Winchester City Council  Twitter - http://twitter.com/winchestercity  Facebook - Winchester City Council		Corporate Communications Winchester City Council City Offices Colebrook Street Winchester Hampshire SO23 9LJ Tel: 01962 848 504 Tel: 01962 848 251 communications@winchester.gov.uk

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