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 Village News Magazine |
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This page was last updated on
Monday June 9, 2008
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| District Councillor Alan Shotter. |
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| District Councillor
Alan Shotter |
Well by the time you read this Alison Hoare and I will have completed a year as your District Councillors. Time has just flown by.
Well what has been happening in the last few months?
Alison and I have spent quite a lot of time on Sea Defence Work at Admiralty Quay and working towards getting a lorry ban through the village centre.
As far as the lorry ban is concerned the County Council are undertaking a review and the results should be published in the summer, that’s when the work in getting it implemented really begins.
At present there are over 1200 vehicle and over 900 trailer operating licences granted in the village, the vast majority are based on Marchwood Industrial Park.
At present neither, the Parish or District Council are allowed to object to these licences being granted. Following my success in moving a motion asking for changes in the way licences are grant at National Conference of Local Councils, last October.
I moved a similar notice at the New Forest District Council, calling on the Government to widen the rules that Inspectors have to consider when granting an operation licences.
I believe that the inspector should take into consideration the number of licence operating out of one site, the effect these HGVs have on the local road network and that the views of both Parish and District Councils be taken into consideration.
The District Council has now called on the Local Government Association to take the matter up with National Government.
Another problem that has taken up a lot of my time has been the local bus service through the village.
When Go Ahead (the new owners of Solent Blue Line), decided to withdraw the daytime service between Hythe, Marchwood and Totton to Southampton and replace them with an hourly service Calshot to Totton it was quite a shock.
Alison and I had an emergency meeting with Councillor Kendall the County Councillor responsible for bus services.
What had to take place was some drastic action because of the timing in the council’s financial year. What we came up with was the saving of the daytime service, using the money allocated to the evening and Sunday service.
Following two public meeting we were able to get some kind of Sunday daytime service reintroduced, which really is not what is needed, but at present is better than nothing.
The contract of supported service due to be renewed in July and tenders are out at the present time, Alison and I have had another meeting with Councillor Kendall and Councillor Thornber (Leader of the County Council) and I am very hopeful that come July we will once again have not only daytime services but evening and all day Sunday services.
As Chairman of the Youth Development Project, progress is at last beginning to get under way; we have finally got the go ahead from the Charity Commissioners to construct the building on the Lloyd Recreation Ground.
With the help of Alan Stevens we are about to go out to get the plans drawn up and to go chasing of financial support. At last I believe it will really be built in the next three years.
In closing I must pay tribute to District Councillor Alison Hoare who works with me as a great team. Thank You Alison
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