TLC Online and Marchwood Parish Council receiving their Hantsweb Award

Last year we had three resignations from the Parish Council, Cllrs Mike Prince, David Porter and Angela Arney all left the council. A By-Election was claimed and Fiona Hardy, Rolli Rowlands and Sharon Thery were all elected to serve on the Parish Council. I hope they feel at home with us.

The precept of £182,473 for 2006/7 represents a 1.99% increase on the precept for 2005/6. The cost for an average band D dwelling is £92.41. We continue to look after and preserve the facilities in the village to the highest standards.  There is a large amount of public open space to maintain and this has increased with the transfer of Admiralty Quay and Baytree Gardens over to the Council for maintenance. We have employed an additional groundsman to ease the workload for the summer period.

Councillors represent the Parish Council on more than 20 other organisations both locally and at the National Association of Local Councils through its Annual Conference. We also attend many council meetings and the attendance register of members at these meetings is available to the public. It is also available online.

We have updated our Statement of Objectives recently, see page 12. Some of the statements are ongoing whilst others are more specific. Some objectives have been achieved and I shall refer to them as my report progresses. 

The Youth Centre project which has had many false dawns may finally begin to be more active. A parcel of land has been identified and initial discussions  have been very positive. Negotiations are underway and The Council  hope to announce a step forward with land over the next few months.

Traffic issues have dominated the Planning Committee’s agenda over the past year. The HGV ban covering certain roads in the village came into operation last year. It has helped some areas of the village but additional problems with Heavy Goods Vehicles on Hythe Road hit the local news.  Discussions with Onyx, Oceanic Estates, and the District Council has now  resulted in fewer HGV’s using that stretch of the road and we hope that this will continue.

New traffic calming measures have been introduced on Main Road. Some remedial work needs to be done in order for the job to be completed and there is some concern about the posts visibility at night but generally the measures appear to be working.

Speed of traffic continues to be an issue in many parts of the village, especially down Tavells Lane and Hythe Road. Discussions have taken place with the police and spot checks are going to happen.  It is, however, the responsibility of  every car driver to maintain a safe travelling speed within the speed limit of  the village.

The construction of a safe crossing across Normandy Way, which we had anticipated would be completed before the end of last year, we now hope will go ahead in the not too distant future.  There has also been some work done at the entrance to the Industrial Park with the construction of a mini-roundabout.

The Planning Committee has commented on 69 planning applications over the last year. With the formation of the National Park Authority, we will now be dealing with two separate planning authorities, with part of Marchwood within the Park boundary most of the built area outside it. Over recent months we have also had very close liaison with the Marchwood Power group of contractors who will be developing the power station. These  include discussions about the possible routing of underground cables and siting of pylons.

From April 1st free travel is being offered to retired and disabled people on public transport throughout the district. There have been some changes to the bus route timetables.

Access to the waterfront has been a long stated aim of this Council and some issues have come up this year which may affect access. Certain projects may not now go ahead due to lack of funding and we are currently in discussion  with the District  Council about this. The Community Planning Group has finally got underway. This is a separate  group from the Parish Council of local residents who are interested in producing the Parish Plan. It involves finding out about what villagers  want. The Parish Council has two representatives on the committee. I wish  them luck and await their findings with interest. The Plan will eventually form  part of the supplementary planning guidance for the District Local Plan.

We regularly review our website and have recently included a ‘Have Your  Say’ area within this. We are also currently reviewing the Village News. Is the  format correct? Would people prefer a different style? Your views are  welcome on this and in any other means of communication you feel would be  of benefit to the community.

Last year as part of the Good Citizens project with the Junior School, we were  asked to appear on Teachers TV.  The theme last year was ‘How can we improve the quality of life for the people of Marchwood?’. As a result of the entries from the children the following have taken place. The Welcome Pack  for new residents is being updated with a ‘Welcome to Marchwood’ card  designed by the children and a CD Rom included. 

New maps of the village  that are more user friendly and fun have been designed and ordered.  These will be placed at various spots in the village. The theme this year is What can we do to make Marchwood healthier and safer? and has already been launched. The Parish Council has continued to give grants to a number of local groups and organisations. They range from sporting groups like Marchwood Rangers  football club and Applemore Junior netball group through to Waterside Arts and Community First, New Forest.  Money has also been given to Marchwood Twinning Association and the Marchwood Carnival and Fete Steering Group.

We have worked closely with the local Community Safety Officers and the Police resulting in a Magistrates Court finding some local youths guilty of causing criminal damage to property. The police also provide the Council with  a monthly beat analysis of crime in the village.

Our Youth Worker continues to work closely with all the local organisations  that are involved with young people. He has regular contact with schools and  is involved on a daily basis with the youth of the village. The youth club has  grown over the last year.

The Council has put in additional seating throughout the village. Two seats are at the Falklands War Memorial and one is at Twiggs Lane. A new bridge has been installed at Oaklands Park, replacing an older one which had been repaired quite a lot.

The Junior School have been pleased to accept the Thunderbell and Door Knocker with their historic links to the Admiralty Quay site, formerly the  Royal Naval Armaments Depot, and these are on display in school.

On Lloyd Recreation ground, for which the Parish Council act as Trustee, a new basketball hoop and surfacing has been installed. It is well used and a popular addition to the facilities on offer.  There has been new fencing put around the play area and new equipment has been installed with more to  follow in the form of a trim trail.

The Village fete is to be resurrected in July and we wish the committee who have made this possible every success.  The Youth worker continues to use the  Pavilion as a base for his work. Sport and Play in the Park has run over holiday  periods.

In an effort to make ourselves more available to the public we continue to run the 6-monthly Open Forum. These meetings do not have agendas and residents are invited to talk to the Council about issues that concern them. There is, of course, an opportunity to do this at the end of this meeting.

I would like to thank all the residents who take the time to attend our meetings as well as a personal thank you to the staff of the Parish Council who put a great deal of effort into maintaining our green spaces, providing admin support and advice to help councillors make the right decisions. Marchwood is a great place to live.