The Annual Parish Meeting will be held at 7.30 pm on Monday, 25^th April 2005 at Easton Village Hall, with a glass of wine before the meeting starts. 

Parish Councillors for the two wards are as follows: 

Easton and Martyr Worthy                                                                 Itchen Abbas and Avington

Jennifer Ffennell                                                                                    Alison Matthews Chairman

Elaine Labram                                                                                       Cynthia Bolton

Fiona Parry                                                                                           Steve Gapper co-vice chairman

Geraldine Phillips                                                                                   Martin Woodcock (until March)

Eric Thompson                                                                              

Paul Twelftree co-vice chairman

 Representatives on the Village Hall Committees for the last year were:

   Easton                                                                                                Geraldine Phillips

   Itchen Abbas and Avington                                                                 Steve Gapper

   Martyr Worthy                                                                                     Fiona Parry

Other responsibilities for the last year were:

   Executive of Winchester District Association                                     Jennifer Ffennell

        of Parish Councils                                                                         and Alison Matthews

   Public Transport                                                                                 Martin Woodcock

   Old School Field, Easton Trustees                                                    Alison Matthews ex officio

                                                                                                               and Elaine Labram

   King George V Memorial Playing Field                                               Alison Matthews and Fiona Parry                

   Footpaths                                                                                           Cynthia Bolton

   Pranell Trust and Winchester Welfare Trust                                     Fiona Parry

   Highways representative                                                                    Paul Twelftree 

Clerk/Proper Officer: Joyce Edgell (Little Orchard, Station Hill, Itchen Abbas SO21 1BB)

She can be contacted on 01962 779643 or by email: jedgell@abbas97.fsnet.co.uk 

Parish Council Meetings are held on the first Thursday in the month (except August) at 7pm in one of the three village halls.  Members of the public are always welcome. Agendas and Minutes can be read on www.itchenvallyparishcouncil.org.uk

Code of Conduct for Parish Councillors

All Parish Councillors have signed the code of conduct. No complaints have been made against any of the Parish Councillors. 

Freedom of Information Act 2000

Current Parish Council papers and records may be inspected by prior arrangement with the Clerk. Older minute books and other documents are at the Hampshire Record Office. 

Footpaths  

Very many thanks to Charlie Yeates for his work keeping the paths in good order.  Any problems relating to footpaths should be reported to Joyce Edgell or Cynthia Bolton.

Notice has been received from the Trail Riders Association of their intention to apply for four RUPPS (roads used as public paths) in our area to be upgraded to BOATS (byways open to all traffic). Such applications require evidence of historic use by vehicular traffic even if non-motorised. Landowners affected should receive notice from the applicants when the application is made. Much as we might wish to ensure that our paths remain the preserve of riders, cyclists and pedestrians the current law is such that we can only object if we have evidence relating to the historic use and this is extremely hard to find. Three of the RUPPS affected are on Itchen Down and the fourth is the continuation of Church Lane, Easton.

Planning

South East Plan

This was described in an article in the March edition of the magazines.

The public consultation period ended on 15^th April, it will be interesting to see how many responded and in what way. The Plan, possibly amended in the light of the comments by the public, will be submitted to the Government for consideration. 

Winchester District Local Plan

The Public Inquiry started on 8^th June 2004 and closed on 17^th March 2005. The Inspector’s report is expected in the late summer 2005.

South Downs National Park

The Public Inquiry was held in Worthing. It began on 10^th November 2003 with “in principle” objections mainly from local authorities, including Winchester City Council; these mainly related to loss of planning powers.

The Inspector held two days of discussion with different Parish Councils on administrative arrangements and I attended one of these with representatives from four other Parishes.  There was a useful discussion particularly about the way in which planning decisions might be reached and the Parishes might be represented on the Park Authority.

The Inquiry finished in December 2004 and the Inspector will take most of this year to write his report so a decision is unlikely until 2006. 

Local Strategic Partnership

This is a partnership of organisations that is drawing together several themes to help to shape and improve the District and is part of a national government initiative. The Community Strategy for Winchester looks at different facets of life where changes could lead to improvements. I represent the Winchester and District Association of Parish Councils in this partnership, which gives an opportunity to consider matters relating to the whole district. 

Planning Applications and Decisions 

Planning Appeals

Heather Glen, Itchen Abbas

We are awaiting the result of the second appeal. The Inspector made his site visit on 6^th April 2005. 

Abbotsbury and The Paddock, School Lane, Itchen Abbas

Banner Homes (Wessex) Ltd has appealed against the refusal by Winchester City Council to allow 14 dwellings with garages, parking etc on the site of these two properties. There will be a Public Inquiry in Itchen Abbas Village Hall on 4^th and 5^th April 2006. A good attendance by members of the public will show the Inspector the level of concern in the village so do please make a note of the dates and keep some time free to attend.  Thank you to everyone who attended the site visit last August. We understand that another application will be made shortly. 

Planning Applications

The Police House, Itchen Abbas

An application was submitted for demolition and redevelopment but was then withdrawn and so far there has been no new application.

Roman Post/ Lunways

Similarly an application for demolition and redevelopment with two houses was submitted and then withdrawn. Planning officers would have recommended refusal although the Parish Council believed that this would have been the best use for the site. 

Chillandham Cross, Chilland

Permission for three new houses was granted with an access road from Chillandham Lane past the front of the existing house.

Hotel at Morn Hill

Permission has been granted for an hotel and work is now starting.  It will be fairly basic with 120 bedrooms  and few public facilities. 

MSAs at Shroner Wood

We continue to monitor the use of the gate into Chillandham Lane. This should not be used as an exit from the MSA and the gates should be kept locked. If anyone sees them unlocked please let me know. 

Oil well near Cheesefoot Head

Tests are continuing on the site but with no conclusive results as yet. The tests are aimed at solving problems relating to excess water.

Low Cost Housing

During this year Hyde Housing Association has acquired the freehold interest in this site and some clearing has been done. The next stage will be diversion of the mains water pipe by Southern Water followed by installation of the drainage system by Bio Bubble. The target date for completion of the ten dwellings is Spring 2006 and the builders will be Drew Smith from Hedge End. 

Homelands Music Festival

This will run from 1pm on Saturday, 28^th May to 7.30am on Sunday 29^th May. As usual the roads from the Itchen Valley to the A31 will be closed during that time to ensure that festival traffic does not find its way into the country lanes. A helpline will be provided by the City Council, during the event, to deal with complaints about noise: 01962 863493. 

King George V Playing Field

The “Itchen Valley” team, run by Mr and Mrs Pratt from Easton, is continuing to use the field on Sunday mornings. They do have a problem with dog fouling on the pitch which they have to clear before matches; so if you walk your dog on the Field could you please ensure that you avoid the pitch area or clear up any mess yourself.

Accounts for the field are prepared up to the 31^st March each year and will be available at the Meeting. As the KGV charity has no funds, all expenses have to be borne by the Parish Council and the small income from the football team and occasional parking is used to off set these as far as possible. 

Sewage Treatment Plants

Couch Green   Land adjoining the existing plant is being acquired by the City Council with a view to improving the service.

Itchen Abbas   Land in Northington Lane is to be acquired for the construction of a new sewage treatment plant, most of which will be underground. The site will be screened by hedges.  This will replace the existing plant in Station Close which serves 28 houses.

The project has been much delayed, for example planning permission was refused when the City Engineer’s Department failed to provide sufficient information!   

Overhanging Branches and Hedges

These are a particular problem on bus routes and we do ask you to ensure that pruning is done to avoid branches hitting the buses especially along the B 3047. In the same context it is also important to be sure that road signs and visibility splays are not obscured. 

Traffic Calming

Easton:

Work on the change of priority at The Cricketers is due to start in the next two weeks. 

Itchen Abbas and Martyr Worthy - B 3047:

We have had a meeting with a member of the County Council traffic management team who is looking at the problem in two stages. First they will produce a minor scheme to help pedestrians cross more safely by the Village Hall. This is likely to consist of coloured road surface and warning signs indicating the bend.

They will then consider the road as a whole and in particular whether overall speed can be reduced to a level at which the Police will support a reduction in the speed limit to 30mph.  

Police

The beat officer for the Itchen Valley is Police Constable Andrew Murphy. He can be contacted on:

Email  Andrew.Murphy@hampshire.pnn.police.uk or 0845 045 45 45 ext 635 134. 

Accounts

As the financial year only finishes on 31^st March audited accounts are not available. Unaudited accounts will be available at the Annual Parish Meeting or from the Clerk.

As usual notices will appear on notice boards and in the magazines when audited accounts are finalised.

We try to keep an amount roughly equivalent to one year’s precept in reserve and this is currently in the region of £9,500.

The precept itself was slightly higher than usual this year at £14,250 as we have to make a contribution of  £1,500 towards the cost of traffic calming in Easton. 

 Last year the Parish Council made grants of:

·         £300 to each of the PCCs for maintenance of the churchyards,

·         £650 to each of the village halls

·         £130 to the Easton and Martyr Worthy News

(Itchen Abbas and Avington Village News is offered the same amount but declines it)

while cutting grass at the King George V Playing Field and the Old School Field Easton cost about

£1700 and footpath maintenance about £1000 per annum.  

General

Martin Woodcock has resigned after representing Itchen Abbas on the Parish Council for ten years and we thank him for all he has done in that time. His knowledge of the workings of the County Council has always been of great assistance to us. The vacancy has been advertised in the magazines. The next full elections will be in May 2007.

Joyce Edgell has continued to organise our work with great charm and efficiency so thank you to her and to all of the Parish Councillors for their contributions throughout the year. 

Alison Matthews

Chairman