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The Role of
Parish Councils in tackling Climate Change
 Representatives from
parish and town councils across the Winchester district recently discussed
climate change and their role in tackling it at a meeting convened by
Winchester Action on Climate Change (WinACC) and the Winchester District
Strategic Partnership (WDSP). The WDSP has approved a Climate Change
Action Plan which aims to reduce Winchester's carbon emissions by 20% by 2012
and 30% by 2015.
Parish councillors recommended that each parish and town council should put
climate change onto the agenda of one of their meetings, and agree to draw up
a plan of what the parish council will do. They also asked parishes to use
their newsletters to spread the message that climate change is already
happening and is a serious issue, complete with tips about how we
can cut down our carbon emissions. Notes of the meeting can be found on
the WDSP website.
Jock Macdonald from WinACC has offered to come to any parish and town council
meetings to join the discussion about climate change. Jock is the convenor of
WinACC's Transport Group. He was the District Councillor for the parishes of
Crawley and Sparsholt between 1982 and 1994. If you want to talk to him, feel
free to contact him on 01962 853929 or email him at jockmacd@ntlworld.com.
More information will be included in future issues of Parish Connect, but if
you want to know how the debate about parish council involvement in climate
change is being taken forward across Winchester district, contact Chris
Holloway at WinACC on 01962 827083 or e-mail her at chris.holloway@winacc.org.uk.
Core Strategy Preferred Option out for Consultation
 Consultation on the
Core Strategy preferred option commenced on 14 May and will run through to
5pm on Friday 3 July 2009.
All
Parishes Councils have been sent a paper copy of the Core Strategy which sets
out for the first time the complete Core Strategy, including the detailed
wording of policies and proposals, and the allocation of key sites across the
District for development over the next twenty years. The document can also be
viewed online at www.winchester.gov.uk/preferredoption.
Exhibitions
around the District will commence on Saturday 6 June where Winchester
City Council staff will be on hand to answer questions about the Core
Strategy or the Local Development Framework in general. Venues were listed in
the April edition of Parish Connect and can also be found online at http://www.winchester.gov.uk/preferredoption
The exhibition boards will be available online for those who are unable to
attend in person.
There are
many ways in which you can comment on the Core Strategy:
- Online at www.winchester.gov.uk/planning -
complete an online questionnaire which will then be submitted directly
to the Council's LDF team
- Or email LDF@winchester.gov.uk
- Paper comment
form - please call 01962 840 222 and request a form to complete and
return to the address below
- In writing
to: Head of Strategic Planning, Winchester City Council.
City Offices, Colebrook Street, Winchester, Hampshire. SO23 9LJ
Core
Strategy Preferred Option Sustainability Appraisal
To ensure
the policies and proposals set out in the Core Strategy are progressing
towards delivering sustainable development, all the draft policies have been
assessed against the Councils agreed sustainability appraisal framework. The
results of this process can be viewed at www.winchester.gov.uk/liveforthefuture
If you have
any comments on the sustainability appraisal and its initial findings please
submit these to us either in writing or by email - ldf@winchester.gov.uk -
by 5pm on Friday 3 July.
Next Steps
After
this consultation your comments will be considered by the Council along with
other responses received and the results of the Sustainability Appraisal and
evidence base studies, and will inform the preparation of the next stage
of the Core Strategy, the 'pre-submission' version, due to be consulted on
end of 2009.
LDF@winchester.gov.uk
South
Downs National Park given the Green Light
 The Government's
announcement that there will be a South Downs National Park to replace 99% of
the East Hampshire and Sussex Downs Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
concludes ten years of discussion about a National Park and its boundary. The
Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP Secretary of State for the Department of the
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has decided that the area would be best
served by the creation of a new National Park. The area will continue to be
managed by the South Downs Joint Committee (SDJC) while the new National Park
Authority is being established.
The
National Park will largely replace the existing Area of Outstanding Natural
Beauty (AONB) designations which the area has enjoyed since the 1960s.
Approximately 40% of Winchester's area will fall within the park boundary and
discussions have already begun about how planning and other functions
will be provided. It is envisaged that the new National Park Authority should
be up and running in April 2011.
Further
information regarding the South Downs National Park can be found on DEFRA's website or on Natural England's website.
South East
Plan Adopted by Secretary of State
The
South East Plan is the 'Regional Spatial Strategy' for the South East of
England and sets out the planning strategy and development requirements for
the area. There have been various stages of consultation and examination of
the document and the Secretary of State adopted the Plan on 6 May 2009. The
South East Plan is now part of the statutory 'development plan', replacing
earlier regional planning guidance and the Hampshire County Structure Plan
Review. The Council's Local Development Framework is now legally
required to be in accordance with the South East Plan.
The main change in relation to the Council's area involves a reduction of the
District's housing requirement by 500 dwellings (in the non-PUSH
area). The references to the Plan's housing requirements being a
'minimum' have also been removed, but at the same time the housing
requirements for the Strategic Development Areas (SDAs) no longer refer to
'up to' 6000/10000 dwellings.
The adoption of the South East Plan provides a clear statutory basis for
future planning and will be taken into account by the City Council in both
its development management and forward planning activities. The South East
Plan can be viewed online at: http://www.gos.gov.uk/gose/planning/regionalPlanning/815640/
Small Grant Schemes 2009 - 2010
 The closing date for
the second round of the Winchester City Council 2009/10 Small Grant Scheme is
on 24 June.
Eleven organisations benefited from grants in round one with some of the
activities supported including an inter-village cricket event, art workshops
for children, the creation of new allotments, and a twinning event for
the Cyclists Touring Club Winchester.
Applications
are invited from not-for-profit voluntary organisations, community groups
or registered charities, for projects or activities that take place
after 5 August 2009. Grants of up to £500 are available for Bio-Diversity,
Carbon Reduction, Community Chest, Community Planning, and Twinning
activities/projects.
If you
would like to apply for a grant for your organisation details of this scheme
are on the Winchester City Council website: www.winchester.gov.uk/SmallGrants/
If you
would like to discuss your project or have any queries regarding this scheme
please contact the Community Grants Officer on 01962 848582.
It's Ok to
Play
 The first site to be
developed for the It's OK to Play project will be West Walk located to the
south of the district, close to the large rural parish of
Wickham. Consultation has been carried out with children and young
people to ensure that the facilities provided meet their needs and a group of
pupils from Swanmore College of Technology are actively involved with the
planning and design of the new facilities.
As part of this process there will be a pre-launch event at West Walk Woods
on Thursday 11 June 2009 from 12.00pm - 2.00pm. You will have an
opportunity to look around the site and speak to young people and the press
about the project. It should also give a helpful insight into the sort of
play opportunities that may be possible on the remaining 3 sites.
For more information please contact Nicola Lawrence, Community Wellbeing
officer, Winchester City Council 01962 848497
www.winchester.gov.uk/itsoktoplay
Over
55's Information Day
Following on from the success of the information day at the Discovery Centre
in October last year, the Winchester District Older Persons partnership are
organising a similar event at Wickham Community Centre, Mill Lane, Wickham.
PO17 5AL on Tuesday 2 June 2009.
Please feel
free to drop in between 11am - 2pm to find out useful information from
different services. The list below is just a selection of those organisations
already attending.
 * Citizens Advice Bureau * Hampshire Fire
and Rescue service - home safety scheme * Winchester City Council - Homecheck
scheme * Bus passes * Trading standards * Health Advice * Transport * Housing
advice * Entitlement & benefits information * Pensions service * Library
service * Age Concern * Meon Valley Carers * Energy advice centre * Telecare
* Healthy Walks * University of the third age ( U3A) * Home improvement
agency - handyman scheme *
If you
would like further information please contact Nicola Lawrence, Winchester
City Council, 01962 848497 or email nlawrence@winchester.gov.uk .
Good
Neighbour Awards 2009
The
Good Neighbour Awards introduced five years ago, give people the opportunity
to publicly acknowledge and reward the support of volunteers and neighbours
who provide that 'bit of help'.
It's often the small things such as getting to and from the shops, collecting
prescriptions, or keeping the garden tidy, that can become increasingly
difficult. Maybe you know someone, an individual or a local voluntary group,
who helps make these tasks easier.
Nomination
forms can be downloaded from: www.hants.gov.uk/bettertime and sent
to: The Good Neighbour Award Scheme, Chief Executive's Department, Hampshire
County Council, The Castle, Winchester SO23 8UJ.
Alternatively
you can email the information to wellbeing@hants.gov.uk.
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Dates for your diary...
Personnel
Committee
8 June 2009 18.30
Walton Room, Guildhall, Winchester
Winchester
Town Forum
10 June 2009 18.30
Walton Room, Guildhall, Winchester
Cabinet
(Traffic & Parking) Committee
10 June 2009 10.00
Walton Room, Guildhall,
Winchester
Licensing
& Regulation Committee
11 June 2009 18.30
Walton Room, Guildhall,
Winchester
Cabinet
17 June 2009 10.00
Walton Room, Guildhall,
Winchester
Planning
Development Control Committee
18 June 2009 09.30
Walton Room, Guildhall, Winchester
Principal
Scrutiny Committee
22 June 2009 18.30
Walton Room, Guildhall, Winchester
Statements
of Account Committee
25 June 2009 14.30
Walton Room, Guildhall, Winchester
________________
Latest News from Winchester City Council...
More awards for city council's car parks
A
further five of Winchester City Council's car parks have received the
prestigious Park Mark Safer Parking Award; taking the total number of car
parks with the award to sixteen.
Perlins
project exhibition at City Space
In June, a Durley-based group will take the spotlight at the City Council's
City Space exhibition area at Winchester Discovery Centre. Members of the
Perlins Project will be showing their pottery, alongside a visual record
depicting the creation of the work through film and photography.
Cllr
Dominic Hiscock appointed as the 810th Mayor of Winchester
Cllr Dominic Hiscock was appointed as the new Mayor of Winchester at a
Mayor Making Ceremony at Winchester Guildhall on Wednesday 20 May 2009 -
his wife, Caroline, will serve as the Mayoress.
Alresford
project aims to put pedestrians first
Alresford's pedestrians are set to benefit from a new project being led by
the enterprising Town Partnership.
Winchester
gears up for a season of festivals
Winchester has a fantastic array of exciting and very different
festivals which are enjoyed each year by thousands of local people and
visitors to the city.
LDF
Core Strategy Preferred Option paper out for public consultation
Members of the public and interested parties will from Thursday have the
opportunity to comment on Winchester City Council's Preferred Option for
the Core Strategy, as part of the Winchester District Development
Framework.
Alresford
Local Office closed on Friday 12 June
The Council's Local Office services at Alresford Library will be unavailable on Friday 12 June 2009
due to the closure of the Library on that day for staff training.
Winchester's
wealth of history now online
A wealth of information about the Winchester District's historic sites and
development is now available to the public online, thanks to a grant from English
Heritage.
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