Wellbeing

Winchester Councillor - Fiona Isaacs

Businesses raise urgent concerns

An application for parking bay suspension on Broad Street for 6th, 7th and 8th June for filming was received. As soon as this came to my notice I contacted Winchester City Council to establish who had ensured that the local businesses were fully informed. It transpired that this had not taken place and I contacted the businesses individually to establish how they felt and to inform them of the application in full. After a lot of consultation with the parking team and the film location manager, we managed to get a reduction on the loss of parking spaces.

This should never have happened without consultation. The town needs the parking to keep businesses going and they suffer terribly when they are blocked off.

On-Street parking

Hampshire County Council has confirmed that consultation will take place before decisions are made. I met with Cllr Rob Humby, Leader of Hampshire County Council (HCC) who has kept economy in his portfolio. I raised the concerns about on-street parking in Alresford and Cllr Humby has agreed to a meeting with the Chamber of Commerce and businesses to listen to concerns.

Businesses recognise that things will potentially need to change to get parking enforcement in the town. Winchester City Council (WCC )are currently not investing in this and the lack of enforcement has been frustrating for many residents and businesses. WCC has dropped their service level by 30%, something that should not have dropped by more than 1%. At present they have three traffic enforcement officers for the entire district. I have always opposed parking meters and it will not be an easy situation with Car parks managed by WCC and on-street by Hampshire CC. Enforcement needs to be funded and a balance needs to be carefully managed.

Safety concerns raised by residents

I called an urgent meeting to discuss the lack of grass cutting in the town again and areas of concern over safety and visibility. A new team is working in our area and they are equally concerned about the lack of visibility, and the safety issues that arise from them, residents have commented that the town looks a mess in some places. I raised concerns about areas that had not been cut all year and had been accidentally missed on the agreed cutting sites. The team grass-cutting team informed me that they were constantly stopped by unhappy residents. I am still receiving calls about this issue and never thought that the reduced cutting project would affect areas like junctions. As a market town, we need to be presentable, and safe and not put people at risk.

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We specialise in

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Sites covered

The Hampshire Clinic, Sarum Road Hospital, The Winchester Clinic and Wessex Nuffield Hospital

Information and booking

www.foot-ankle.co.uk appointments@foot-ankle.co.uk Robin Elliot: 01256 377685 Daniel Marsland: 01256 377685 James Calder: 020 3195 2430

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Alresford Surgery News

Dispensary service Over the summer months (From now until September) it is likely to take longer for prescriptions to be handled by our dispensary due to staffing levels. Therefore please ensure that you place your medication requests in plenty of good time. Please also remember that when attending the surgery, even if just to collect a prescription that you are required to wear a face mask unless you have a medical exemption. Thank you.

Be tick aware! Watch out there are ticks about! It's the perfect condition for these mini beasts. Here's a helpful reminder of some simple 'tick tips' if you're out walking. These tiny insects, which can transmit bacteria such as Lyme disease, can be found throughout the year but are most active between spring and autumn. They are typically found in woodland, grassland, moorland or heathland but are also found in urban parks and gardens. When out walking, remember to keep to footpaths, avoiding long grass.

‘Tick tips’ for walkers include: • Wear appropriate clothing (a long-sleeve shirt and trousers tucked into your socks) • Use an insect repellent • Wear light coloured fabrics that may help you spot a tick on your clothes • Inspect your skin for ticks, particularly at the end of the day, including your head, neck and skin folds (armpits, groin and waistband) • Check your children’s head and neck areas, including their scalp (skin on top of their head) • Check that pets do not bring ticks into your home in their fur. • If you do get bitten by a tick, removing it quickly and correctly can help to reduce any potential risk. The only safe way to remove a tick is to use a pair of fine-tipped tweezers, or an easy-touse device which can be purchased from pharmacies or vets. Grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible. Pull upwards slowly and firmly, as mouthparts left in the skin can cause a local infection. Once removed, apply antiseptic to the bite area and keep an eye on it for several weeks for any changes Contact your GP if you begin to feel unwell or develop a circular red skin rash, often described as a bull’s-eye rash, and remember to tell them that you were bitten by a tick. See NHS Choices for more information on signs, symptoms and treatments for Lyme disease. https:// www.nhs.uk/conditions/lyme-disease/

The Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (CPCS) NHS England and NHS Improvement have developed a new service called The Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (CPCS). The service is helping to alleviate pressure on GP appointments and emergency departments, in addition to harnessing the skills and medicines knowledge of pharmacists. If you phone us with a minor condition, you may be referred to the local Pharmacy for a face to face consultation with the Pharmacist. Our reception team will listen to your symptoms, assess if you are suitable from a list of criteria and then refer you to a community pharmacy, where you can go along for a face to face consultation with the Pharmacist. Some of the things that form part of the scheme are:

• Bites and stings • Colds • Congestion • Ear and eye problems • Gastric and Bowel issues including indigestion and constipation • Hayfever • Pain or swelling • Skin problems such as eczema, warts, verruca’s and athletes foot. • Mouth and throat problems Once the Pharmacist has assessed you, they will recommend a suitable treatment. Should the Pharmacist not be able to help you or your ailment needs to be escalated or referred to an alternative service, the pharmacist can then arrange this.

Children and Young Persons Social Prescribers (Under 25’s) Social prescribing involves working with our social prescribers to think about what things are most important to you and helping you to connect to community organisations that align with what matters. Usually, people have around 1-6 sessions where they would think about what they would like to become involved in and what steps they need to take to get there. You can self refer to this service or may be referred by one of the practice team.

This support might be useful for you if: • You feel ready to get involved in new things but don’t know how/ lack confidence • You are willing to try something new and are quite self-motivated • You don’t want specific mental health input but feel being more active or connected to the community would help your wellbeing.

Alresford Rotary News

Maggot racing for Beginners!

Alresford Rotary was pleased to support the Platinum Jubilee Picnic in the Park on 4th June and thanks all who contributed to the organisation and success of the day, particularly town councillors Keith Divall and Marilyn Weston.

Rotary’s principal contribution was to introduce a new game to Arlebury Park – to join Football, Rugby, Tennis – Maggot racing!

Simple ideas are very often the ones that work best and that’s how it was that many punters whiled away the afternoon racing maggots. The age range of the punters stretched over 80 years, truly making it an activity to be enjoyed by the whole family and as the maggots wriggled their way towards the finishing line loud shouts of encouragement could be heard across Arlebury Park and beyond!

The equipment was very easy to put together. A pint of maggots was purchased from a fishing tackle shop but could have been bought online from willyworms.com and the racetrack was made by partitioning a rectangular piece of hardboard into 5 tracks. For each race, four or five maggots were positioned at one end of each track (no starting blocks were used) and the maggot that reached the other end first was the winner. Whether there is potential for a hurdles race at a future event remains to

be seen! Field events are unlikely but the success of Alresford Rotary’s initial foray into maggot racing (which generated about £100 for Rotary charities) does pose the problem that there is already significant clamour for it to be a staple ingredient of future Rotary fundraising events!

Wessex Rotary Shoebox Scheme

For anyone wishing to make an early start in preparing Christmas shoeboxes of gifts for disadvantaged and displaced children in Albania, Montenegro, Moldova and Romania the scheme leaflets are now

available (wjrp@hotmail.co.uk 738788). Because in recent years it has become increasingly difficult to source boxes of the prescribed size empty boxes will now be provided and will be available shortly. Local schools that supported the scheme last year will be contacted but it is not just a scheme for schools. Everyone and all local organisations are encouraged to take part – please contact us!

Stratton Bates Playground

Work has started on the construction

and installation of the new children’s

playground at the Stratton Bates recreation ground. As of mid-June, the opening ceremony is scheduled to take place at 2.00pm on Thursday 21st July. Alresford Rotary is pleased to have made a financial contribution to what promises to be a wonderful community facility, thanks principally to a generous legacy from former Grange Road residents Mike and Bridget Newitt.

And Finally…

The new Rotary year starts on 1st July bringing to an end Jonathan Read’s two years as President of Alresford Rotary, twice the normal term. Alresford Rotary thanks Jonathan for steering it through a time of Covid “choppy waters” and looks forward to the leadership of the new helmsman, David Marshall! If you would like to make a difference in your local community please let us know. We’d love to hear from you!

James Pinniger & Andrew Castillo www.alresford-rotary.org