Community

New Alresford Town Council

Neighbourhood Plan

Thank you to all those residents who attended the Neighbourhood Plan Engagement Day on 28th April, and to all those who have completed the questionnaire. The Advisory Group held its first meeting on 16 May and the results of the Engagement Day and questionnaires are currently being collated and reviewed. Further information is available on www.newalresford-tc.gov.uk/ Neighbourhood_Plan

Floral Displays for the Town

160 floral displays have been installed in the town centre on many properties and will soon be looking splendid. As this is the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee year, we felt it was fitting that the displays are red, white, and blue flowers. The theme was continued by Anita Wade who planted the three town entry flower beds. A huge thank-you for her continued enthusiasm.

Platinum Jubilee

Celebrating the four-day weekend between 2-5 June with a party or community celebration to mark 70 years of HM the Queen’s reign? Please join the town celebrations at the Jubilee Picnic in Arlebury Park on Saturday 4th June from 2pm until late. There will be a big screen showing live coverage of the day including the concert from Buckingham Palace, fete, competitions, music, entertainment and refreshments. Thank you to our partners who have assisted in organising the event, Alresford Rotary, Pigs, New Leaf and Chamber of Commerce. Further information on Facebook page ‘Alresford’s Jubilee Picnic in the Park.’

Litter

NATC employs a very loyal litter picker who covers all the Recreation Grounds, centre of town, main arterial routes and one-off incidents most days of the week. Especially worrying has been continued incidents of broken glass on the football pitches and public footpaths at Arlebury Park and Stratton Bates Recreation Ground. Families of small children and dog walkers use our parks daily. Please help the litter picker to keep your town clean and tidy by using one of the many litter bins or simply take litter home with you. Fly tipping should be reported to Winchester council but if you witness a fly -tip please report this to the Police 101 number.

Vodafone mast to be erected at Arlebury Park Case 22/00483/ TCP

A planning application has been approved by Winchester Council under permitted development, for the installation of a replacement base station consisting of a 20 metre monopole supporting six antenna, two 600mm dishes, three cabinets and ancillary development. It is not known what date the works will commence, however when complete this will improve the signal strength and connectivity in the area.

On the Alresford River path

Very sadly two resident swans, ducks and pigeons have recently been killed on the river path by air rifles. This is an unlawful offence in a public place. If you see any untoward activity of this nature, please report to the police immediately.

Annual Meeting of New Alresford Town Council

The council had its annual meeting on 10th May. At this meeting councillors decide the council structure for the municipal year 2022/23. The Chair of New Alresford Council Town remains with Cllr Marilyn Weston and Vice Chair is Cllr Ann Bean. A new committee ‘Community and Open Spaces’ has been formed by merging the former Community & Tourism and Recreation & Environment committees, the Chair is Cllr Sarah Jane Cavell. Chair of Planning committee is Cllr Ann Bean and Chair of Operations & Resources committee is Cllr Simon Evans.

All council meetings are open to the public, and a full calendar of dates can be found on the council website. We welcome the views of the public.

World Refill Day - Save the Date!

Please be aware to help people live with less waste. REDUCE, REUSE, REFILL & REPEAT. Eat, drink, shop without the pointless packaging. Refill your water bottles in Alresford where you see the REFILL logo displayed. Get the app REFILL.ORG.UK. If your business would like to support the scheme, contact committeeclerk@ newalresford-tc.gov.uk who can provide a REFILL LOGO sticker for your business.

 Previous Installation

At Town and Country, we take pride in ensuring every client receives the best customer service, from the informative and knowledgeable sales process through to the extensive after sales care.

Our boutique showroom showcases some of the finest kitchen and bathroom furniture available, with a strong emphasis on UK and European manufacturing. Bathroom manufacturers on display include Ambiance Bain, Pelipal, Hansgrohe, Roper Rhodes and Miller of Sweden, with Porcelanosa tiling throughout the showroom. Our kitchens are expertly crafted by Schuller, the second largest German kitchen manufacturer, they have an extensive and inspiring collection ranging from the contemporary to the more traditional.

Please contact us regarding our complementary design and quotation service, we look forward to hearing from you. Previous Installations 

Visit Town & Country

8 The High Street, Botley, Southampton, Hampshire, SO3O 2EA Telephone: 01489 536187 Email: sales@town-and-country.co.uk www.town-and-country.co.uk

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National Garden Scheme - Hampshire

Dame Mary Berry, President of the National Garden Scheme, launches the Great British Garden Party for the third year.

Dame Mary said: “As President of the wonderful NGS, I am delighted to invite you to join me in hosting a Great British Garden party this year. It doesn’t matter whether your garden is large or small, tidy or untidy why not join in and help raise funds for vital nursing, caring and health charities. To read more about the Great British Garden Party simple go onto the NGS website ngs.org.uk and click on the link for Mary Berry. If hosting a party is not your thing, you could always support the NGS by visiting one of our stunning gardens. Here are a couple, that you might be interested in - around 20 miles of Itchen Abbas.

Longstock Park Water Gardens

Leckford, Stockbridge, SO20 6EH. Part of John Lewis Partnership. Opening: Sunday 19th June - 1pm to 4pm prebooking available. Admission: £10.00 child £2.00 card payment available. Refreshments: At Longstock Park Farm Shop available till 3.30pm. Famous water garden with an extensive collection of aquatic and bog plants set in 7 acres of woodland with rhododendrons and azaleas. A walk through the park leads to the National Collections of Buddleja and Clematis viticella; arboretum and herbaceous border at Longstock Park Nursery. https://findagarden.ngs.org.uk/garden/3239/longstock-parkwater-garden

Searles Lane Gardens - Cherry Tree Barn & Maple Cottage

Hook, RG27 9CQ (Parking - RG27 9QU - Papermill Ave. - short walk: Disabled parking in Searles Lane)

Maple Cottage opened after a 2 yr break, in 2021. After a huge success then, we are pleased to be opening again. It is a ½ acre cottage style garden with herbaceous borders, veg plots and a tiny, but very active wildlife pond surrounded by hostas, astilbe, sarracenia and a quirky tree cave for kids. The neighbouring 1 acre contemporary garden at Cherry Tree Barn is just 3 yrs old and is the realisation of the owner’s ideas working with garden designer Fiona Harrison. The area around the thatched barn has been planted with grasses, iris, salvia, euphorbia, phlomis and knautia. Drifts of oxeye daisies and other wildflowers on bunds line the perimeter. Hard landscaping incl terracing, decking, pathways and Japanese influenced Yatsuhashi Bridge through the main border. Small collection of sculptures completes the piece. Opening: Friday, Saturday & Sunday 24th 25th & 26th June 2pm to 5pm Pre-booking available OR just turn up on the day Admission: £6.50 children free Card Payment available. Refreshments: Home-made teas at both gardens. https://ngs.org.uk/view-garden/42289

Pat Beagley (Publicity) - National Garden Scheme - Hampshire

Photo Credit Marienne Majrerus

Alresford Flower Club, 50 years old!

In 1971 a group of ladies met to discuss the formation of a Flower Club. Initially, the Club met on a Friday in the Community Centre. This changed to the 4th Wednesday. More recently, we have met in St John's Hall, the Methodist Hall, and are now in St Gregory's Church Hall.

Our first birthday party was in Lawrence Oxley's shop (where our secretary worked), and our President was Princess George Galitzine, who regularly attended our Christmas Fayre. We always had a Father Christmas, a bran tub and cake, decoration and gift stalls. We ran Jumble Sales to raise funds for special demonstrators. Other events included Fashion Shows - our secretary provided the clothes, with members as the models!

We had monthly competitions judged by the demonstrator. There were cups (beginners, intermediate and advanced) and even one for husbands to win! This was abandoned as entries decreased due to rising costs. Members have supported the Alresford Show every year, gaining many awards.

We have taken part in festivals in Winchester, Portsmouth and Salisbury Cathedrals, Westminster, Farnborough and Romsey Abbeys, North Foreland Lodge School, Wilton House, Jermyn’s House, Avington Park and Gilbert White's at Selborne. We were also responsible for festivals on our own - Old Alresford Place, St John's, St Gregory's, Methodist Church, Bishops Sutton, Preston Candover, Ropley, Northington, Ovington, Winchester Guildhall, Theatre Royal and the Literary Festival.

We recently held a belated Anniversary Lunch at the Bell Hotel, complete with a cake! A friendly club with an excellent programme of demonstrations and lectures, we are pleased to welcome new members on last Wednesday of each month at St Gregory’s Church Hall – enquiries 01962 735321