April was a bit of a sad meeting for the Parish Council as we had to say goodbye to two of our Councillors who were not seeking re-election—Frank Alexander and Mark Böckle.
Frank has been a Parish Councillor for almost 40 years and was one of the people who helped to run the Lyndhurst Carnival for many years.
He was also instrumental in agreeing the plans for The Meadows.
As Frank said—the developer originally wanted two straight rows of identical houses.
By contrast Mark has only been with us for four years but has achieved a lot in that time, not least the very popular village walk.
We are not having an election for parish councillors in Lyndhurst.
Caroline Wilkins stood for election and so will be joining us as a new councillor and we will need to co-opt someone shortly.
If anyone is interested in joining please get in touch with myself or one of our councillors.
Any formal application should also be sent to myself.
The referendum and election for a District Councillor will still take place on 5 May.
Turning to the Cemetery, I am told that Lockerley Stone will shortly be erecting some replacement plaques.
This is the first of several batches that follows the theft from the Garden of Remembrance wall last year.
We have come up against one problem, however.
At least one plaque has been re-erected in the wrong place, thus causing distress to the owner of the plaque that should be in that space.
With co-operation we have managed to rectify the situation but the Cemetery Committee would be extremely grateful if anyone wishing to re-erect a plaque would consult with myself before doing so.
Although there will be no fee involved plaques must not be re-erected without prior permission from the Parish Council.
With the help of Lockerley Stone we have managed to piece together where many of the plaques were originally situated and we would be delighted to hear from anyone else who has photographs of the wall before the thefts took place.
Of course, I do realise that not everyone is dealing with Lockerley Stone regarding replacement but you may have information that would be useful.
During April, Councillors Frank Alexander, John Charlesworth, George Bisson and myself met with Paul Garrod from Hampshire County Council to discuss signage for the priority bus route in Shrubbs Hill Road.
Compromises had to be made but we think the result will be an improvement.
The Recreation Ground Committee has met and has discussed providing some additional play equipment, this time for very young children.
I will write more about that as things progress.
Unfortunately money also has to be found for such things as fencing and safety surfacing which are essential nowadays.
Plans are still going ahead to provide CCTV in the Recreation Ground.
The seat on Romsey Road, opposite the junction with Wellands Road, will shortly be replaced as the one there at the moment has come to the end of its life.
I am discussing our fault log with Hampshire County Council at the present time.
This is a system whereby Councillors and members of the public can report faults around the village such as potholes and faulty pavements to me and they are then logged and a copy sent to Hampshire Highways (or the relevant authority) requesting remedial action.
I have requested an update as some faults have been outstanding for a considerable period of time.
The fault log can be viewed on our website.
The Parish Council meet again on Tuesday, 10 May at 7.15 pm in Lyndhurst Community Centre.
Members of the public are very welcome to attend and there is an opportunity to raise matters during public participation.
Margaret Weston,
Clerk to the Council,
Woodlands,
Fritham,
Lyndhurst,
Hampshire
SO43 7HJ
Tel: 023 8081 3218
Email: lyndhurstpc@woodlands.mail1.co.uk.
Please note that it would be appreciated if telephone calls could be kept to office hours as much as possible. |
