Autumn Borough News 2022 - Top stories

Itchen Valley Country Park £3.3 million transformation

Itchen Valley Country Park in West End, has been voted one of the best open spaces in the country in a national awards scheme - and it is being made even better as a £3.3 million programme of improvements gets under way.

The Council-operated park is well into its second decade of success in the Keep Britain Tidy charity’s Green Flag Award scheme, which is a nationally recognised mark of quality.

The programme of improvements includes a new community building and remodelling of the existing Highwood Barn and Kingfisher Barn, better barbecue and picnic areas, upgraded play equipment, a new central events and welcoming space, and a covered outdoor seating area for customers of the popular Woodland Café. The new facilities will also provide greater accessibility, with a Changing Places room for disabled users, as well as additional toilets. Car parking will be upgraded and the riverside access road will be diverted to keep vehicles away from park users.

Park Sport turned up the fun this summer!

The Council’s popular annual Park Sport programme for five to 16 year-olds took place over August to help children and young people reduce screen time and turn up the fun this summer!

167 sessions were held across four weeks with over 1,500 places booked, nearly one thousand registered for free swimming, and nearly 200 attending drop-in events that encouraged attendees to try something new and get active across the Borough.

Make the switch to solar together

We are working with Hampshire County Council and group-buying experts, iChoosr, to help residents make the switch to clean energy as easy and cost effective as possible. The Solar Together scheme allows residents to get a better deal on solar panels and batteries by combining their purchasing power.

Residents can register for the scheme for free, and without obligation, before 27 September. The more people that register, the better the deal should be for each household.

For more information and to register visit www.solartogether.co.uk/hampshire

Council creates biodiversity rich grassland

Species-rich grassland, with rare wildflowers including varieties of orchid, have returned to an area of Itchen Valley Country Park thanks to the efforts of the Council’s Countryside team over many years.

Around five hectares of meadow at High Hill Field have been carefully managed and successfully restored to flower-rich grassland which has now been nationally classified as ‘priority habitat’ by the Hampshire Biodiversity Information Centre.

Council buys and protects farmland to improve biodiversity

The Council has now completed the purchase of several key areas of farmland in Bishopstoke, Fair Oak, West End and Botley totalling over 580 acres as part of a project to protect and enhance our environment.

The land will be used for a variety of initiatives to enhance our environment and by changing the land from conventional agricultural use helps us to reduce the amount of nutrients that end up in our rivers and the Solent.

New community sports facilities to open

New sports facilities in Hedge End will open in the Autumn following their completion at Deer Park School and Berrywood Fields, located near Woodhouse Lane.

The new school facilities include a full-size floodlit 3G artificial football pitch, changing facilities and a multi-use activity hall at Deer Park School. Three new football pitches and public open space at the adjacent Berrywood Fields will be the new home for local football club, Hedge End Rangers, as well as being available for the local community to use.

Freeports

Our Economic Development team supported the recent launch of the Solent Freeport to promote local investment opportunities.

The tax and customs advantages available at these sites provide incentives to attract the brightest and best of businesses from all over the world, creating jobs, prosperity and visibility for the areas around them. An estimated £1.4bn of private investment could be generated for the Borough and surrounding areas.

Sustainability Big Ideas Weekend

Climate conscious businesses across the Borough will be coming together at The Point, Eastleigh for the Sustainability Big Ideas Weekend in September to help educate people on living greener lives.

The event on 17 and 18 September (10am-3pm) will see pop up activities taking place in the theatre to showcase climate and biodiversity action in our communities, and support people in making changes in the way they live. During the weekend there will be clothes swaps, kilo sales and plasticfree pantries as well as much more from local businesses and organisations.

Eastleigh shortlisted for Council of the Year

Eastleigh Borough Council has been shortlisted for recognition as Overall Council of the Year in Service Delivery in the APSE Service Awards 2022.

APSE - the Association for Public Service Excellence - is the organisation dedicated to promoting quality in the delivery of frontline services to local communities. Their awards receive hundreds of submissions every year and the outstanding councils that have met the stringent criteria of the judges have been shortlisted for Council of the Year.

Drone technology records biodiversity progress

Drone technology is helping to capture bidoversity progress on One Horton Heath team with some aeriel images from this summer.

The new colourful and engaging informal open space at Allington Lane is open for the community to enjoy with new rural footpaths. (pictured above)

For more stories, look out for the latest Borough News through your letter box or read it online.