Chairmans Monthly Report August

 From the Parish Council. 

The Parish Council does not have a scheduled meeting in August but several planning issues arose with deadlines for comment; hence the need for an Emergency Meeting. While on the subject of planning; first point, please remember that the Parish Council is invited to comment but not the definitive authority and there is no guarantee that our view will prevail. Second point is that our meetings complete with agenda are posted, three clear days in advance of the meeting, both on the main notice board in Itchen Abbas and on our Website. Residents are entitled to attend meetings and present their views on any item on the agenda, including planning applications. Once the Parish Council has agreed on a comment and it has been submitted, it is generally too late to request it to be changed. It therefore pays, to look at the dates of our meetings which are posted on all five notice boards in the Valley and on our Website, keep an eye out three days before the meeting and see what is on the agenda. If there is an issue that is of interest, please come to the meeting or if not make you views known to a member of the Council beforehand. Raising an issue after the meeting has happened is not helpful and generally too late once a decision has been made. As has been pointed out many times in the past please do not try to contact us via the Itchen List. Useful as it is the Parish Council is not permitted to use it as an official means of communication. 

An even better way to know what the Parish Council is doing is to join us. There are two places to be filled. It does not matter in which of the four villages you are resident. You just need to be over 18 and it would be good to have some younger members, at present there are at least two of us over 75! Remember there is only one meeting a month and there are a variety of areas to concentrate on that may be of special interest to you. 

Once again roads and transport issues have continued to feature over the last month. Thank you to Stuart Barr and Richard Turner for taking a delegation to a meeting of Hampshire County Council in July and gave them an outstanding presentation. Unfortunately, as has happened with our previous efforts, the response from the County Council lead on Highways and Transport was not encouraging. The only answer is to keep the pressure up. Our MP Danny Chambers has suggested we get a petition going to show the depth of local feeling. Work is underway to set this up. Also traffic and road issues causing adverse conditions for Valley residents can be brought to the attention of Councillor Foster, HCC Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport on an individual basis. The more complaints they get the greater the chance of getting some action. This especially applies to the problems of Chapel Lane Easton. Speeding especially but not only along the B3047 is another problem that needs attention. Among other measures setting up a speed watch group is being investigated and also the use of “20 is Plenty” signs in some locations. Progress on these issues will be on the agenda for the Full Council Meeting on 3rd September. 

By September birds will have finished nesting so now is the time to cut back hedges along footpaths and Rights of Way. Please remember that although the Parish Council, with the aid of the Lengthsman and the Ramblers, does do some work to keep paths clear this work is the responsibility of the landowners. Where the footpath is a verge or a pavement along the side of a road it is a serious safety issue. In such cases, hedges and overgrowth bordering the a verge or pavement should be cut back vertically to a height of 2.2 metres (approx 7ft) above ground level. For the safety of all, especially along the verges and pavement of the B3047 please get this work done as soon as possible. Also please be aware when walking the footpaths and bridleways of a phenomenon occurring during these hot summer days. Visually healthy, mature trees especially ash, oak and beech, unexpectedly drop heavy, sap filled horizontal limbs. The exact cause is a combination of prolonged drought stress followed by high humidity which changes internal cell pressure and causes heavy wood to fall under its own weight. 

And finally some good news, the external audit report has come back without a single adverse comment. A great achievement and congratulations to our Clerk Victoria and the Parish Councillors who assisted her. 

Patrick Appleby, IVPC Chairman.